Facebook celebrated its 21st birthday last week and investors are in party mood. Already up 18 per cent in 2025, Meta gained 13 days in a row – the longest winning streak in its history.
Stunning numbers are nothing new for Facebook. Begun in Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm in 2004, the company went public in 2012 and, after enduring a few tricky initial months, subsequently went skyward.
A $10,000 (€9,633) investment in Meta at its May 2012 price would be worth $184,200 today, notes Bespoke Investment.
Still, buying the stock is one thing; holding on is another. Bespoke notes that between September 2021 and November 2022, Meta lost three-quarters of its value. Chastened, Zuckerberg reined in the spending on the so-called metaverse.
Soon after, ChatGPT came along, the AI boom began, and Meta soared nearly 800 per cent.
Still, it’s human nature to cut your winners and bank profits, so holding on during a bull market can be as difficult as during a bear market. As Meta’s history proves, the hardest part of investing isn’t picking winners; it’s having the stomach to hold them.
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