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Facebook owner Meta Platform’s shares plunged more than 20 percent late on Wednesday after the social media company posted a weaker-than-expected forecast, blaming Apple’s privacy changes and increased competition for users from rivals like TikTok.
Facebook’s global daily active users declined from the previous quarter for the first time, to 1.929 billion from 1.930 billion.
Meta said it faced hits from Apple’s privacy changes to its operating system, which have made it harder for brands to target and measure their ads on Facebook and Instagram. It also cited macroeconomic issues like supply-chain disruptions.
The 18-year-old tech giant, which also faces pressure from platforms like TikTok and Google’s YouTube, said it expected slowing revenue growth in the coming quarter due to increased competition for users’ time and a shift of engagement toward such features as its short video offering Reels, which generate less revenue.
Facebook reported 2,91 billion monthly active users in the fourth quarter, showing no growth compared with the previous quarter.
The after-hours slump in Meta shares vaporized US$200 billion of its market value, while peers Twitter, Snap and Pinterest lost another US$15 billion in value.
Shares of Alphabet, which posted record quarterly sales that topped expectations on Tuesday, were down nearly 2 percent.
Meta, owner of the second-largest digital ad platform in the world after Google, had previously warned its advertising business faced “significant uncertainty” in the fourth quarter. — Reuters.
Online Reporter