Meta Platforms stock jumped nearly 3% in morning trading

Meta Platforms stock jumped nearly 3% in morning trading.

Although Meta may have changed its name two months ago, make no mistake that the vast majority of the company's revenue still originates from advertising on Facebook. When the September quarter ended, Facebook had 2.91 billion monthly active users (MAUs) visiting its site, with another 670 million unique MAUs heading to Instagram and/or WhatsApp.  This combined 3.58 billion MAUs represents more than half of the global adult population. It's no wonder Meta's ad-pricing power is higher than just about any company on the planet.

Meta hasn't even depressed the gas pedal all the way, either. It'll generate more than $100 billion in ad revenue in 2021, yet almost all of this will come from Facebook and Instagram. If and when the company decides to meaningfully monetize Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, we should see another sizable bump in sales, profits, and cash flow.

Meta is also the premier play on the metaverse -- i.e., the next iteration of the internet that allows people to interact in 3D virtual environments. While significantly monetizing the metaverse remains a ways off, Meta Platforms has a front row seat for when that does occur.

Meta may we be the best overall value among the FAANG stocks.