Meta Platforms changed its corporate name from Facebook to Meta in October 2021 while ranking among the world’s largest companies.
The company announced the change on 28 October 2021, and the legal name became Meta Platforms, Inc. The rebrand was intended to emphasize the company’s broader focus on the metaverse rather than only its original social-networking service.
Facebook remained the name of the company’s flagship social network. Meta also owns Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, which made its business much broader than one website or application. Its Class A shares continued trading under the ticker symbol META after the transition.
The name change is often mistaken for a spin-off or a new public listing. It was a corporate rebranding, not the creation of a separate company. Meta’s market capitalization still changes with its share price, advertising performance, user growth, and investor expectations about future products.