OfTheCross
Veteran
Facebook used to be a Big Tech giant — now Meta isn't even in the top 20 most valuable U.S. companies
Meta shares are down more than 20% on Thursday, the second time this year they've collapsed after an earnings report.
www.cnbc.com
KEY POINTS
- Last year, Facebook was among the five most valuable U.S. companies, with a market cap over $1 trillion. Now the company is worth about $270 billion.
- Meta forecast a third straight quarter of revenue declines on Wednesday, leaving CEO Mark Zuckerberg to thank investors who are still on board for their patience.
- The company is no longer in the top 20 in terms of market cap in the U.S.
Far from Facebook’s Big Tech days, Meta is no longer among the 20 most valuable U.S. companies after the stock sank 23% on Thursday. The company has shed 70% of its value this year and 74% since the stock peaked in September 2021, totaling over $730 billion in market cap lost. It’s trading at its lowest since early 2016, when Barack Obama was still president.
The stunning collapse of Meta’s share price is reminiscent of the dot-com bust days, but far bigger in terms of value erased from a single company. The slide began late last year as signs of a sputtering economy started to emerge, and accelerated in early 2022 after the company said Apple’s privacy change to iOS would result in a $10 billion revenue hit this year.
Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been unable to stop the bleeding and only seems to be making matters worse. Since changing the company name to Meta a year ago Friday, Zuckerberg has said its future is the metaverse, a virtual universe of work, play and education. But investors just see it as a multibillion-dollar money pit, while the core advertising business shrinks — Facebook is forecasting a third consecutive drop in revenue for the fourth quarter.