Stock · Internet and advertising
Meta real return vs inflation and money printing
Meta Platforms Inc. Owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, funded mainly by advertising.
Key numbers
- 1-month change
- +17.8%
- Volatility (30-day, annualised)
- 47.7%
Meta real return after inflation and money printing
In dollars and pounds, before and after inflation, since May 2012.
+1,566%Meta after US inflation since May 201221.5% a year
Up 2,328% in dollars since May 2012. After US inflation, up 1,566%. Against money printing, up 935%.
In pounds, up 2,726%, or up 1,787% after UK inflation.
- $ nominal
- +2,328%24.8% a year
- £ nominal
- +2,726%26.1% a year
- Real $ (US CPI)
- +1,566%21.5% a year
- Real £ (UK CPI)
- +1,787%22.6% a year
- vs US M2
- +935%17.6% a year
- Measured from
- May 2012to Oct 2026, 14 years 5 months
- Meta, Real $ (US CPI)$718.70
- $ nominal$718.70
- Oct 2026, latest
Loading the chart. Every figure is also in the table below.
| Period | $ nominal | £ nominal | Real $ (US CPI) | Real £ (UK CPI) | vs US M2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past year from Oct 2025 | +10.8% | +10.1% | –a (see note a) | +7.2% | +5.7% |
| 5 years from Oct 2021 | +122% 17.3% a year | +130% 18.1% a year | +83.4% 12.9% a year | +81.7% 12.7% a year | +101% 15.0% a year |
| Since 2020 from Dec 2019 | +250% 20.1% a year | +251% 20.2% a year | +169% 15.6% a year | +165% 15.3% a year | +130% 13.0% a year |
| 10 years from Oct 2016 | +449% 18.6% a year | +406% 17.6% a year | +296% 14.8% a year | +257% 13.6% a year | +208% 11.9% a year |
| Since May 2012 first month in our data | +2,328% 24.8% a year | +2,726% 26.1% a year | +1,566% 21.5% a year | +1,787% 22.6% a year | +935% 17.6% a year |
- a US CPI was not published for Oct 2025.
How these figures are worked out
Sources, inflation measures and what is left out
- Month-end closes from Yahoo Finance, Nasdaq, May 2012 to Oct 2026. Oct 2026 is still in progress, so its figure is the latest close rather than a month-end. Our history for Meta starts in May 2012, so longer windows are left out.
- Real figures divide by US CPI (BLS, via FRED) or UK CPI (ONS, joined to the ONS long-run RPI before Jan 1988) and are stated in Oct 2026 money. The M2 lens divides by the US M2 money supply (Federal Reserve, via FRED). Pounds convert at each month's GBP/USD rate.
- US CPI is published with a lag: Oct 2026 uses the Aug 2026 figure.
- UK CPI is published with a lag: Oct 2026 uses the Aug 2026 figure.
- US M2 is published with a lag: Oct 2026 uses the Aug 2026 figure.
- Price returns only: dividends are not included, so the total return to a holder who reinvested them was higher.
- A return of 12 months or more also shows its yearly rate. Gaps in a source are left as gaps and never filled in.
Meta price history, past year
Daily closes from Nasdaq. Last refreshed .
Where Meta stands today
52-week range
- Below the high
- 1.8%
- Above the low
- 45.2%
At $763.53, Meta is higher than 100% of its daily closes over the past year and only 1.8% short of the $777.59 high it set on 24 Sept 2026.
Moving averages
- 50-day$646.92 +18.0%
- 200-day$631.00 +21.0%
Price compared with each average. Bars to the right mean the price is above it.
Meta is 18.0% above its 50-day average and 21.0% above its 200-day average, so on both the shorter and the longer view the trend we measure is still pointing up. The 50-day line last crossed above the 200-day on 6 Oct 2026, the pattern traders call a golden cross.
Trend score
- Trend100
- Momentum77
- RSI score85
- Drawdown96
- Uptrend
- 65 or more
- Sideways
- 36 to 64
- Downtrend
- 35 or less
Rules-based, from 277 daily prices. It describes the trend so far and does not predict the next move. How it works.
Meta performance and biggest moves
Returns over time
| Period | META | SPY | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 week | +3.3% | -0.1% | +3.4 pts |
| 1 month | +17.8% | +1.9% | +16.0 pts |
| 3 months | +12.1% | +3.1% | +8.9 pts |
| Year to date | +15.7% | +14.2% | +1.5 pts |
| 1 year | +6.7% | +17.4% | −10.7 pts |
Meta is up 6.7% over the past year on price alone, against +17.4% for the S&P 500 (through the SPY fund), so it has trailed that comparison by 10.7 percentage points. Dividends are not included, so the total return for holders would be a little higher.
Best and worst days in the past year
- Days that closed higher
- 52%
- Moves of 3% or more
- 40
The biggest one-day rise since 13 Oct 2025 came on 21 Sept 2026 (+11.3%) and the sharpest fall on 30 Oct 2025 (−11.3%). Of the 251 trading days in that period, 52% closed higher than the day before and 40 moved by 3% or more in one direction or the other.
Is Meta overbought, and how volatile is it?
RSI (14-day)
Firm- Sessions at 70+ (past year)
- 11
- Sessions at 30 or lower
- 17
At 66.2, Meta's RSI is in the upper half of the usual 30 to 70 band, so buyers have had the better of the past few weeks without the reading reaching the level we'd call stretched. Over the past year it has spent 11 sessions at 70 or above, most recently on 25 Sept 2026.
Volatility against other US shares
6th most volatile of 27- Typical daily move
- 3.0%
- Calmest in group
- BRK.B 10.8%
Meta's 30-day volatility is 47.7%, which works out at a move of roughly 3.0% on an ordinary day. That makes it the 6th most volatile of the 27 US shares we track, well above the group median of 23.3%. One very large day, such as an earnings release or a sudden sell-off, can lift a 30-day figure for weeks, so we would read the ranking as this month's picture.
Meta compared with similar assets
| Asset | Price | Today | 1 month | 1 year | RSI | Trend score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| METAMeta | $763.53 | +0.14% | +17.8% | +6.7% | 66 | 89 Uptrend |
| GOOGAlphabet | $350.25 | +0.21% | +4.4% | +43.2% | 58 | 80 Uptrend |
| AMZNAmazon | $258.75 | +0.07% | +0.8% | +17.6% | 55 | 80 Uptrend |
| NVDANVIDIA | $229.24 | +0.32% | +5.0% | +21.7% | 53 | 89 Uptrend |
Over the past year Alphabet has done best in this group (+43.2%) and Meta has been the weakest (+6.7%). Meta comes 4th of 4, 36.5 percentage points behind Alphabet.
About Meta
Facebook was founded in 2004, listed in 2012 and renamed itself Meta in 2021. Almost all of its revenue comes from advertising across its apps, while the Reality Labs division spends heavily on headsets and AI hardware.
- Ticker
- META
- Type
- Stock
- Sector
- Internet and advertising
- Priced in
- USD
Third-party market headlines
Headlines from outside publishers, linked to their sites. We don't write or endorse them.
- TECHNOLOGY Is it OK for jobseekers or employers to use AI?
- TECHNOLOGY Chip stocks suffer worst stretch in 16 months as AI fatigue grips the market
- STOCKS The SpaceX threat could loom over AT&T’s stock for a prolonged stretch, analyst cautions
- STOCKS Six Flags’ stock slumps near 17-year low after fatal incident
- STOCKS AST SpaceMobile’s stock is feeling the heat from SpaceX’s wireless plans
- TECHNOLOGY Was Broadcom CEO bullish or bearish on AI? ‘Gamblers’ comment creates storm.
Meta: questions people ask
Answers are built from the same live figures shown above, so they change as the price does. Last checked 14 Oct 2026.
Has Meta beaten inflation since May 2012?
Yes. From the May 2012 close to October 2026, Meta went up 2,328% in dollars. US consumer prices rose 45.8% over the same months, which leaves a real gain of 1,566%, or 21.5% a year after inflation. A UK holder counting in pounds saw up 2,726%, which comes to up 1,787% once UK CPI is taken out. These are price returns: dividends are not included, so a holder who reinvested them did better.
How has Meta done against money printing?
The US M2 money supply grew 135% since May 2012. M2 counts the cash, current accounts and savings deposits held in the US, so it measures how much new money was created rather than how much shop prices rose. Against it, Meta is up 935%.
What is Meta's real return over 10 years?
Over the 10 years to October 2026, Meta returned 449% in dollars (18.6% a year). After US inflation that is up 296%, 14.8% a year. In pounds after UK inflation it is up 257%.
What is the Meta share price today?
The last price we have for Meta is $763.53, up 0.1% on the day, as of 23:55 BST on 13 Oct 2026. We get US prices from Nasdaq and during trading hours they can be up to 15 minutes behind, so if you are about to trade you'll want the live quote from your broker rather than ours. Over the last month the shares have moved +17.8% and over the last year +6.7%.
Is Meta stock overbought right now?
No, or at least not on the 14-day RSI, which reads 66.2 at the moment. We'd only start calling Meta overbought above 70 and it hasn't been there since 25 Sept 2026, while the last time it went the other way and dropped below 30 was 30 Mar 2026. RSI looks back over 14 sessions and asks how much of the movement was up and how much was down, so a reading in the 50s or 60s mostly tells us the past few weeks have been tilted towards buyers without getting extreme. Meta spent 11 sessions at 70 or above in the past year, which is one reason we don't treat a high reading as a cue to sell: in a strong run it can stay there for weeks.
How far is Meta from its 52-week high?
Not far, about 1.8%. The highest close in the past year was $777.59 on 24 Sept 2026 and the lowest was $525.72 on 27 Mar 2026, which puts today's price 94% of the way up that range. We work this out from daily closing prices rather than the intraday highs and lows an exchange reports, so our high can be a little lower than the one you'll see quoted elsewhere.
Is Meta above its 200-day moving average?
It is, and comfortably. Meta's last price of $763.53 is 21.0% above its 200-day average of $631.00, and the 50-day average of $646.92 is above the 200-day as well, which has been the case since 6 Oct 2026, when the two lines last crossed. We show the 200-day line because it averages about ten months of closing prices, so a single bad week hardly moves it, and when we look at a chart it's the quickest way to see whether a share has been rising or falling over the longer run, even if it can't tell us where the price goes from here.
How volatile is Meta stock?
Over the past 30 days Meta's annualised volatility has been 47.7%. If that number feels abstract, it works out at roughly a 3.0% move on an ordinary day. It is the 6th most volatile of the 27 US shares we track and the median for the group is 23.3%, so at the moment it is one of the jumpier ones. The biggest single-day swings of the past year were +11.3% on 21 Sept 2026 and −11.3% on 30 Oct 2025.
Important information
Capital at risk. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Educational information only, not financial advice. Read our disclaimer.
Meta: what the numbers say
Claude Haiku ·Meta is up 2.86% today, trading at $764.18 while the US market is open. The shares sit 1.7% below their 52-week closing high of $777.59, set on 24 September, and 45.4% above the closing low of $525.72 recorded on 27 March. They also stand comfortably above the 50-day average of $646.9 and the 200-day average of $631.0.
Read the full summary Show less
The trend score is 89, labelled Uptrend, and the stock has gained 17.9% over 30 days. Its 14-day RSI is 66.3, and 30-day volatility runs at an annualised 47.7%. Peers were mixed today, with Alphabet and NVIDIA up 0.39% and 0.49% and Amazon down 0.17%. According to CNBC, Meta also appeared in its roundup of Tuesday's biggest analyst calls.
Written by AI from this site's live data and checked figure by figure before publishing. Educational only, not financial advice.