Facebook’s parent company Meta’s shares dropped over 25% early Thursday, cutting nearly $200 billion off the company’s valuation and weighing in the Nasdaq as well as threatening the stock market’s four-day winning streak.
On Wednesday, the tech giant reported weaker profits than the market expectations after losing over one million daily users globally on its signature platform. Facebook’s daily active users (DAU) have dropped for the first time in its 18-year history.
Also Read | Joe Biden announces the death of ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi
In a short period after opening on Thursday, Meta stocks dropped by 25.6% roughly causing a $200 billion loss to the firm’s market value.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s personal holding got a $20 billion hit by the rout on Wall Street, according to the filings on the company stocks he owns.
Also Read | United States ‘won’t endorse’ Rahul Gandhi’s comments on China-Pak ties
The intense sell-off is the latest to trouble a technology giant after the dramatic liquidation of Netflix shares in January 2022. Other major tech firms such as Apple and Google parent Alphabet have rallied after results.
About 20 minutes after opening, the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was down 2.2% at 14,105.30.
Also Read | What this 24-year-old has in common with Barack Obama, 3 SCOTUS judges
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.8% to 35,332.58, while the broad-based S&P 500 fell 1.5% to 4,520.99.
In the last four days, the stocks have rallied as the market try to revive from a bruising January pressured by concerns over shifting Federal Reserve policy and uncertainty over Ukraine.
Also Read | Mississippi 37th US state to legalise use of marijuana for medical purposes
Meta reported revenue of $33.67 billion in Q4 as against analysts’ expectations of $33.4 billion. The revenue rose by 19.9% year on year. Revenue from advertisements in the reported quarter was $32.6 billion.
Apps owned by Meta including Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp saw revenue of $32.79 billion with an operating income of $15.89 billion in Q4. Reality Lab reported revenue of $877 million, up from $558 million in the previous quarter, with an operating loss of $3.3 billion.
Also Read | Fed nominees believe inflation a ‘grave threat’, pledge to fight
The net income dropped by 8.3% on year to $10.3 billion. The earnings per share (EPS) reported by the company was $3.67 below the market estimate of $3.84 per share. The EPS was 5.4% down from the year-ago quarter.
At 11.30 am GMT, Meta stocks were trading at USD 242.98 down by 24.85% or 80.04 points.