How to Buy Meta Stock (META)

Meta Platforms — formerly known as Facebook — is one of the veterans of social media. The company was founded in 2004, and it made uploading pictures and sharing thoughts online into a thing. And in July 2023, Meta took on Twitter with what's been referred to as the "Twitter killer" — a conversation-based app called Threads.

Interest in the new product, which adds to Meta's hugely popular social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, sent the company's stock price up in the days leading up to and following the launch.

But even prior to that, Meta was already a hot stock for many investors and has been for some time. If you're newly interested in Meta stock, here's what to consider before investing, and how you can go about buying it.

How to buy Meta stock

You can buy Meta stock through an online brokerage account. You'll need to add money to the account and then search for Meta stock within the brokerage's platform. You cannot buy Meta stock directly from Meta the company.

» Check out the best brokerage accounts for stock trading

1. Do some basic stock analysis

Analyzing a stock might seem like a heavy lift, but it's one of the first things to consider doing before buying Meta or any stock. That means looking at its earnings reports, competitors and how the tech sector is performing as a whole. You might also look at what professional analysts are saying and read guides on how to research stocks. If you already have a brokerage account, your broker probably has stock screeners and other research tools available for you to use.

In the case of renewed interest in a stock due to a product launch, as is the case with Meta's Threads, news stories will also have valuable information about the future of the product and how quickly it is attracting users.

2. Think about how Meta aligns with your investing goals

A big consideration of any investment decision should be your long-term financial goals. If your goal is to invest for the long term, buying Meta stock may fit into that plan. However, if you want to create a balanced portfolio and you only happen to have tech stocks, maybe you don’t need to add another. Also, note that it may take time for you to see significant gains on your initial investment.

To mitigate risk, it's good practice to keep your portfolio diverse. That means limiting individual stocks to 5%-10% of your investments. If a diverse portfolio is your goal, that could look like buying some Meta stock and balancing your portfolio out by adding exchange traded funds, index funds and bonds.

3. Open a brokerage account

Opening an online brokerage account is a necessity if you want to buy stocks. It’s a pretty straightforward process that takes about 15 minutes. The only thing that may require legwork is doing your due diligence to find a broker with the lowest fees.

We have a guide on opening a brokerage account you can use to help you through the process.

» Compare brokerages using our brokerage comparison tool.

4. Decide how many Meta shares to buy

We aren’t referring to lucky numbers for a lottery ticket here — decide a comfortable number for you in terms of how much you want to invest in Meta stock. Look at factors such as your monthly budget, whether you have enough in your emergency fund, how much risk you’re comfortable with and your financial goals.

When you’re ready to buy shares through your online brokerage account, you'll have to select whether you want to buy a limit order or a market order.

• Market orders: Market orders mean you want to buy the stock ASAP, but the price could go up or down before the transaction goes through.

• Limit orders: Limit orders mean you’re buying the stock at a specific price and not going a cent over or under. If you can’t get the stock at that price, the order doesn’t go through and you aren't charged anything.

» Want to go deeper? Read our primer on how to buy stocks