CHONGQING, CHINA – SEPTEMBER 04: In this photo illustration, an OpenAI logo and a Meta logo are displayed on smartphone screens on September 4, 2025 in Chongqing, China. (Photo by Li Hongbo/VCG via Getty Images)
VCG via Getty Images
Over the past ten years, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) has delivered an impressive $178 billion back to its shareholders through tangible cash in the form of dividends and buybacks. This shareholder-focused strategy has translated into exceptional market performance in 2025, with the stock delivering remarkable returns year-to-date, reaching heights of $796 before settling around $734, significantly outpacing broader market indices and reinforcing Meta’s position as a premier technology investment.
Meta’s transformation into a consistent dividend-paying powerhouse was further solidified last month when the company declared its quarterly cash dividend of $0.525 per share for both Class A and Class B stockholders, representing an annualized yield of approximately 0.28% and demonstrating management’s confidence in sustained cash generation capabilities.
The company’s robust capital allocation framework has been complemented by aggressive share repurchases, with Meta continuing to return substantial capital to shareholders while navigating an increasingly competitive social media landscape, including emerging challenges from AI-driven platforms like OpenAI’s reported Sora 2-powered social video app that could potentially compete with Instagram and Facebook’s vertical video offerings. [1]
Despite these competitive headwinds, Meta’s financial resilience shines through its impressive Q2 2025 performance, generating $47.52 billion in revenue (up 21.6% year-over-year) and delivering $7.14 earnings per share that substantially exceeded consensus estimates of $5.90, providing the cash flow foundation that enables both consistent dividend payments and opportunistic buybacks while maintaining heavy investments in AI infrastructure and metaverse development.
Let’s examine some figures and see how this payout capability compares to the market’s most significant capital-return entities. But before we dive in, remember that assessing a stock from an investment standpoint requires much more. This is exactly what Trefis High Quality Portfolio accomplishes. It aims to minimize stock-specific risks while offering upside opportunities. In fact, it has comfortably outperformed its benchmark—a combination of the S&P 500, Russell, and S&P MidCap indexes—and has achieved returns exceeding 91% since its inception. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.
Interestingly, META ranks sixth for the highest total returned to shareholders in history.
META Shareholder Returns
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Why should you care? This is essential because dividends and share repurchases represent direct, tangible returns of capital to shareholders. They also indicate management’s confidence in the company’s financial stability and ability to produce sustainable cash flows. Moreover, other companies share this quality. Below is a list of the top 10 companies ordered by total capital returned to shareholders via dividends and stock buybacks.
Top 10 Companies By Total Shareholder Return
Top 10 Companies By Total Shareholder Return
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For the complete ranking, visit Buybacks & Dividends Ranking
What do you notice here? The overall capital returned to shareholders as a percentage of the current market cap seems inversely proportional to growth opportunities for reinvestment. Companies such as META and MSFT are expanding at a much quicker rate and in a more predictable manner compared to others, but they have returned a significantly smaller portion of their market cap to shareholders.
That’s the flip side of high capital returns. While they are attractive, you must consider the following question: Am I compromising growth and solid fundamentals? With this in mind, let’s review some metrics for META. (see Buy or Sell META Stock for more information)
META Fundamentals
META Stock Fundamentals
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META Historical Risk
Nonetheless, META is not immune to significant declines. It dropped approximately 43% during the 2018 correction, 35% during the Covid pandemic, and experienced a more substantial decrease of 77% during the inflation shock. Despite all the positives surrounding the stock, risks remain tangible. When the markets decline, META can still experience considerable losses.
However, the risk is not confined to significant market crashes. Stocks can decline even when the markets are performing well—consider events such as earnings reports, business updates, and changes in outlook. Check META Dip Buyer Analyses to observe how the stock has bounced back from sharp declines in the past.
Remember that investing in a single stock without comprehensive analysis can be risky. Consider the Trefis Reinforced Value (RV) Portfolio, which has outperformed its all-cap stocks benchmark (combination of the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 benchmark indices) to produce strong returns for investors. Why is that? The quarterly rebalanced mix of large-, mid-, and small-cap RV Portfolio stocks provided a responsive way to make the most of upbeat market conditions while limiting losses when markets head south, as detailed in RV Portfolio performance metrics.
1. OpenAI announces Sora 2 and an AI video and audio app that allows for user ‘cameos’, Jared Perlo and Angela Yang, Sep 30, 2025, CNBC