CHAIRMAN: DR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: DR. KHALID MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

Business / Stock Market

Facebook owner Meta set for $200 billion wipeout, among worst in market history

Published: 03 Feb 2022 - 01:19 pm | Last Updated: 03 Feb 2022 - 01:22 pm
Peninsula

Bloomberg

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. is set to shed about $200 billion in market value, in what would be one of the biggest one-day market capitalization wipeouts for any company on record.

Shares in the social media giant slumped as much as 22% in premarket trading after it gave a forecast for the first quarter that missed estimates amid stagnating user growth and increasing competition from TikTok. If those losses hold, Meta could see nearly $200 billion in value wiped out -- more than the current market capitalizations of 460 of the S&P 500’s members.

Meta’s drop also dragged social media peers Twitter Inc., Snap Inc. and Pinterest Inc. lower in U.S. premarket trading and put pressure on Nasdaq 100 Index futures. The tech-heavy gauge looks set to end a four-day rally prompted by good earnings from companies including Alphabet Inc.

Several Wall Street firms slashed their price targets on Meta shares after the results, with Morgan Stanley’s Brian Nowak saying that the company’s Reels product faces competition from TikTok and noting advertising revenue headwinds. Still, he remains bullish on the longer-term opportunity.

Meta was trading 19% lower at $260.55 as of 4:35 a.m. in New York.