Facebook

Facebook in brief

• Rank: #79 of 100 in America's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026; #10 of 11 in Media & Entertainment.
• WCRC Power Score: 70.28 out of 100.
• Founded: 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes.
• Owner: Meta Platforms, Inc., Menlo Park, California.
• Leadership: Mark Zuckerberg, Founder, Chairman and CEO.
• Latest revenue: $201.0bn revenue (FY2025, +22.2%), group revenue of Meta Platforms, Inc., as per company filings.

What makes Facebook powerful

Facebook's power comes from reach. It is the founding app of Meta Platforms, whose family of apps also includes Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Threads. In September 2026, 3.64 billion people used at least one of those apps every day, up 3% from a year earlier. Facebook, launched in 2004, is the network on which that family was built.

That reach turns into one of the world's largest advertising businesses. Meta's advertising revenue rose 26% in the third quarter of 2026, and advertising made up nearly all of the company's sales. Growth came from every region, with Asia-Pacific up 15%. For advertisers, that daily reach is the product. Meta's apps, led by Facebook, brought in almost all of its quarterly revenue, while its Reality Labs hardware unit earned less than 1%. Few brands of any kind are part of so many people's daily routines.

In September 2026, 3.64 billion people used at least one of Meta's apps, led by Facebook, every day.

Why Facebook ranks #79

Facebook sits at #79 with a WCRC Power Score of 70.28, just behind Barbie and BlackRock and just ahead of Heinz and Charles Schwab. Its global reach gives it top marks for digital and financial strength. But low consumer trust, after years of privacy scandals and 2026 court losses over harm to young users, pulls it down. That keeps it below the brands just above, despite its size.

The Achilles' heel

Facebook's Achilles' heel is trust. In March 2026 a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young user who said she became hooked on social media as a child, and awarded $6 million in total damages. In a separate New Mexico privacy case tied to Cambridge Analytica, a judge in October ordered Meta to pay the state $25 billion. Meta has appealed the Los Angeles verdict and plans to appeal in New Mexico.

The 2026 story

Facebook's 2026 story is growth under legal pressure. In March juries in New Mexico and Los Angeles ruled against Meta in cases over harm to young users. In August Meta agreed to pay up to about $18 billion to settle claims by dozens of states over teen safety, and it booked a $9.89 billion charge for the deal in the third quarter. Florida and New Mexico stayed out. In October a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in a separate privacy case. Thousands of individual lawsuits remain. The business kept growing anyway. On Oct. 21 Meta reported that 3.64 billion people used its apps each day, and its advertising revenue rose 26%.

Pillar profile

Provisional desk scores out of 100, for the WCRC Business Intelligence Unit to validate.

Versus its nearest rivals

Questions people ask

Also featured in

• Most powerful Media & Entertainment brands
• Biggest American Brands by Revenue
• Most powerful brands in California

Key facts

Sources

• Annual report (Form 10-K) and financial results of Meta Platforms, Inc. filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission
• Company website, official announcements and press releases
• Published interviews and statements by the leadership
• WCRC Business Intelligence Unit research: consumer sentiment, ratings and reviews, search demand, media and social data