From its start as a college social network to its focus on virtual reality, Meta (META) has become one of the biggest tech companies in the world.

In 2023, the company generated over $134 billion in revenue, and it has nearly 4 billion active users across its various properties. Let's take a closer look at the company's biggest moments with Beyond the Ticker.

2004

Meta began as Facebook, founded by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes, and Eduardo Saverin.

2006

Originally a “college students only” social network, Facebook expanded its membership to the general public.

2012

In April 2012, Facebook acquired the photo and video-sharing social network service Instagram for $1 billion.

A month after that, Facebook went public via IPO at $38 per share. The company was valued at $104 billion, the largest valuation to date for a newly listed public company.

2014

Facebook acquired the instant messaging and voice-over-IP service WhatsApp for $19 billion.

That same year, Facebook acquired Oculus, a leading virtual reality company, for $2 billion.

2021

Mark Zuckerberg fully rebranded Facebook as Meta, saying that while it would still remain a social networking firm, the new name would also emphasize the company’s new focus on the metaverse.

2023

Meta's Instagram team launched Threads, a new text-sharing app designed to rival Elon Musk's X platform.

Later that year, the company released Meta Quest 3, the first mass-market mixed reality headset, as well as its Meta AI, a generative AI-powered digital assistant.

2024

In February 2024, Meta announced its first quarterly dividend, sending shares of the tech giant soaring.

Meta reached a new all-time high stock price of $527.34 on April 5, 2024, and surpassed the coveted $1 trillion market cap.

The company is now leaning deeper into AI, while continuing to push its metaverse. Meta’s ultimate goal is to blend the two concepts into one coherent platform that can propel its growth well into the future.

From tech giants to retail titans, Beyond the Ticker is a historical series that takes a deep dive into some of Wall Street's trending companies and how they transformed into the financial icons they are today.

Check out more of our Beyond the Ticker series, and be sure to tune in to Yahoo Finance.

Editor's note: This video was produced by Zach Faulds.