Meta vs Procter & Gamble: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Meta and Procter & Gamble side by side

1. 1837Procter & Gamble

   Company Founded in Cincinnati

   William Procter and James Gamble sign a partnership agreement on October 31, 1837, establishing Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio, with combined capital of approximately 7,192 dollars.

2. 1862Procter & Gamble

   Civil War Army Contracts Fuel Expansion

   P&G wins contracts to supply the Union Army with soap and candles, generating significant revenue that enables manufacturing expansion and introduces millions of American soldiers to P&G products for the first time.

3. 1882Procter & Gamble

   Ivory Soap Launches Nationally

   Harley Procter and James Norris Gamble introduce Ivory soap, promoted as 99 and 44/100 percent pure and notable for its floating characteristic.

4. 1890Procter & Gamble

   Company Incorporates and Expands Nationally

   Procter & Gamble incorporates in Ohio with capital of 4.5 million dollars and begins building manufacturing capacity outside Cincinnati, establishing the operational infrastructure for national distribution that the Ivory soap advertising campaign had created…

5. 1911Procter & Gamble

   Crisco Shortening Introduced

   P&G launches Crisco vegetable shortening, the first hydrogenated vegetable oil product marketed to American consumers as an alternative to lard and butter.

6. 1931Procter & Gamble

   Brand Management System Invented

   P&G executive Neil McElroy writes a famous internal memo proposing that each brand have its own dedicated management team responsible for competing against all rivals including other P&G brands.

7. 1946Procter & Gamble

   Tide Detergent Launches

   P&G introduces Tide synthetic detergent, which rapidly becomes the best-selling laundry product in the United States and establishes the template for all future P&G brand development: superior product performance, heavy consumer advertising, and sustained mark…

8. 1961Procter & Gamble

   Pampers Diapers Introduced

   P&G introduces Pampers disposable diapers, transforming the infant care category and creating what will become one of the company's most globally significant brands.

9. 2004Meta

   Facebook launches at Harvard

   Facebook launched on February 4, 2004, as a real-name student network. The product mattered because it made identity, campus trust and friend connections the core of the service before the company became a public social platform.

10. 2005Procter & Gamble

    Gillette Acquired for 57 Billion Dollars

    P&G completes the acquisition of Gillette Company for approximately 57 billion dollars in an all-stock transaction, adding Gillette razors, Braun appliances, Oral-B dental products, and Duracell batteries to the P&G portfolio.

11. 2007Meta

    Ad platform becomes the business model

    Facebook's advertising products turned user attention into a scalable commercial system. The shift mattered because the company could keep the consumer product free while charging marketers for measurable reach, targeting and conversion tools.

12. 2012Meta

    Instagram acquisition

    Facebook agreed to acquire Instagram for about $1 billion in cash and stock. The deal mattered because Instagram was mobile-native at a moment when Facebook needed to prove it could survive the smartphone shift.

13. 2012Meta

    Facebook IPO

    Facebook completed its initial public offering in May 2012, raising about $16 billion.

14. 2014Meta

    WhatsApp acquisition

    Facebook announced a deal to acquire WhatsApp, adding a large private messaging network to a company still known mainly for public feeds.

15. 2014Meta

    Oculus acquisition

    Facebook agreed to acquire Oculus VR for about $2 billion. The deal mattered because it gave the company a hardware and immersive-computing bet years before the Meta rebrand.

16. 2014Procter & Gamble

    Portfolio Transformation Announced

    CEO A.G. Lafley announces P&G's plan to divest more than 100 brands and focus the company on approximately 80 core brands in ten product categories.

17. 2019Procter & Gamble

    Portfolio Simplification Completed

    P&G completes the brand portfolio simplification, having divested more than 100 brands and consolidated around approximately 65 core brands.

18. 2021Meta

    Facebook becomes Meta

    Facebook changed its corporate name to Meta in 2021 to bring its apps and technologies under a new company brand.

19. 2023Meta

    Threads launch

    Meta launched Threads in July 2023 and said the app passed 100 million sign-ups in its first five days. The launch mattered because Instagram distribution gave Meta a fast entry into real-time text conversation.

20. 2024Meta

    $164.501B revenue

    Meta reported $164.501 billion in FY2024 revenue and $62.360 billion in net income. The year mattered because AI-powered ad tools, Reels monetization and expense discipline restored confidence after the 2022 slowdown.

21. 2024Procter & Gamble

    Fiscal Year 2024 Net Sales Reach Approximately 84 Billion Dollars

    P&G reports fiscal year 2024 net sales of $84.0 billion and net earnings attributable to P&G of about $14.9 billion, and raises its quarterly dividend 7% to $1.0065 per share, its 68th consecutive annual increase.

22. 2025Meta

    $200.966B Revenue

    Meta reported $200.966B in FY2025 revenue, $60.458B in net income, $83.276B in income from operations, and 78,865 employees at year-end.

23. 2026Meta

    Q2 2026 revenue up 28%

    Meta reported Q2 2026 revenue of $60.80B, up 28%, and net income of $15.85B, down 14%, after $2.40B of legal charges and $1.18B of severance from a May 2026 headcount reduction. It narrowed 2026 capex guidance to $130-145B.

Acquisitions

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