Threatened by comet TikTok, Facebook struggles to seduce young people
(Bloomberg) — Shares of Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. plunged 27% in an epic rout that, in its sheer scale, is unlike anything Wall Street or Silicon Valley has ever seen.
The catalyst was startling news that for the first time ever, Facebook’s user growth seems to have hit a ceiling and its momentum is stalling. Thursday’s collapse wiped out more than $230 billion of market value in an instant — a figure unprecedented in stock-market history — and has investors asking a question that once seemed unthinkable: Are the best days over for Facebook, one of the world’s most widely held technology stocks?
This quarter’s sales forecast also disappointed Wall Street and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg saw his personal wealth potentially plummet about $24 billion. He acknowledged that Meta is facing serious competition for user time and attention, particularly from viral video-sharing app TikTok.
The report marks a dramatic turnaround for a company that has posted share gains in every year but one since its 2012 initial public offering, stoking concern that Meta Platforms’ flagship product and core advertising moneymaker has plateaued after years of consistent gains.
“These cuts run deep,” wrote Michael Nathanson, an analyst at brokerage Moffett Nathanson, who titled his note “Facebook: The Beginning of the End?” The results were “a headline grabber and not in a good way.”
Zuckerberg said Meta’s rival to TikTok, Reels, is growing quickly, but monetization has been slow. He asked investors for patience as the product ramps up.
“Over time we think that there is potential for a tremendous amount of overall engagement growth” with Reels, he said on a conference call Wednesday. “We think it’s definitely the right thing to lean into this and push as hard to grow Reels as quickly as possible and not hold on the brakes at all, even though it may create some near-term slower growth than we would have wanted.”
The misses come at a critical juncture for the company, which is fighting regulatory battles on multiple fronts and also trying to justify a costly shift in corporate strategy to bet on the metaverse, Zuckerberg’s vision for an immersive internet that may take years to realize. For the better part of a decade, it has seemed like Facebook would never stop growing. Now young users — the future consumers of its advertising — are choosing platforms like TikTok and Google’s YouTube for entertainment and community instead.
Rarely, if ever, has Meta been confronted by so many substantial threats at the same time. Aside from user growth woes and intensifying competition, Meta is also contending with a crackdown on targeted advertising by Apple Inc., which it said may trim $10 billion in revenue this year, and cutbacks by advertisers that are paring budgets because of rising costs and supply chain disruptions.
The company, which changed its name to Meta last year to indicate its future direction, also said it will be taking on the META stock ticker in the first half of the year. Shares plunged as low as $237.07 in New York.
At those levels, it’s the biggest collapse in market value for any U.S. company. But there’s no certainty the losses will hold, especially given the recent volatility that’s whipped across technology shares. Markets have swung wildly in recent weeks, with buy-the-dip traders sometimes storming in during the final hours of the trading day.
Other social media companies also saw their shares decline, with Snap Inc. down 21%, Pinterest Inc. down 8% and Twitter Inc. down 5.1%.
Read more about the dilemma facing antitrust regulators looking into Meta’s market power.
Meta’s Reality Labs division, which includes the company’s investments in the metaverse and virtual reality, reported an operating loss of $3.3 billion for the fourth quarter, as the company disclosed its contribution for the first time.
On the company’s call, Zuckerberg was asked when parts of the metaverse will begin to arrive for users. He replied that some aspects — like digital avatars — are already here. He also reminded analysts that while the metaverse will be best experienced using a virtual or augmented-reality headset, people will still be able to access the digital environment through Meta’s existing apps, like Facebook and Instagram.
Facebook reported 2.91 billion monthly users in the fourth quarter, flat compared with the prior period. The main app’s daily active users in North America — the company’s most lucrative market — declined slightly from 196 million to 195 million users.
Meta said revenue in the current period will be $27 billion to $29 billion, compared with the $30.3 billion analysts estimated on average. Changes to Apple’s mobile software that require user permission to gather data for ad tracking are significantly crimping revenue by limited targeted advertising, Meta said.
Sales are also taking a hit because Meta doesn’t make as much money from Reels video clips as it does from other products, like News Feed and Stories. Still, executives painted an optimistic picture, saying Reels will one day make as much money as those other products.
Net income in the fourth quarter was $10.3 billion, or $3.67 a share, Meta said, falling short of the $3.84 per share analysts projected. Revenue was $33.67 billion, compared with the $33.43 billion average estimate.
Wednesday’s earnings report was the company’s first since changing its corporate name from Facebook late last year. When Meta announced the change, the move was criticized for being a distraction from the many problems Facebook has been asked by regulators to fix with its existing networks. But it’s not just branding — resources and talent within Facebook have shifted to the new focus. Meta had said in October that it would see a $10 billion reduction in operating profit for the year because of investments in Reality Labs.
It was also the first financial report since Zuckerberg declared that attracting young people — 18- to 29-year-olds — was the company’s new “North Star.” The company hasn’t said how it plans to disclose its progress toward that goal, and there was little shared Wednesday to address this new push besides a heightened focus on Reels. Young people in particular have been drawn to apps such as ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok and Snap Inc.’s Snapchat, raising concerns within Meta. That was spotlighted by internal research and communications released by whistle-blower Frances Haugen last year, a trove of documents known as the Facebook Papers.
Meta doesn’t regularly break down users by age. It also doesn’t say how many people use Instagram or messaging service WhatsApp, or how much revenue those properties generate.
The company gets about 97% of its revenue from advertising on its social platforms. It warned again about the impact of recent changes to Apple’s iOS software for iPhones, which requires that companies like Meta ask users for explicit permission to gather data about them. Early estimates show that most users decline this tracking, which makes targeted advertising — Facebook’s main selling point to businesses — harder.
“We believe the impact of iOS overall is a headwind on our business in 2022, on the order of $10 billion,” Chief Financial Officer David Wehner said on the conference call.
Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said the Menlo Park, California-based company is working on ways to help advertisers target people with messages that require less personal data.
“There are also a lot of things that small businesses and large businesses can do to take advantage of the many targeting and measurement tools we have,” Sandberg said on the call.
(Updates with shares of other social media companies in 12th paragraph. An earlier version of this story corrected the market value loss in the second paragraph.)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
Hi my loved one! I want to say that this post is amazing,
nice written and include almost all important infos. I would like to peer extra posts like this .
I believe this is among the such a lot important info for
me. And i am satisfied studying your article.
But want to observation on few basic things, The web site taste is wonderful, the articles is
really great : D. Just right job, cheers
hey there and thank you for your info – I have certainly
picked up anything new from right here. I did however expertise
some technical points using this site, since I experienced to reload the website many times previous to I could get it to load correctly.
I had been wondering if your web host is OK? Not that I am complaining, but slow loading instances times will sometimes affect your placement in google
and could damage your high quality score if advertising and marketing with
Adwords. Anyway I’m adding this RSS to my e-mail and could look out for much
more of your respective exciting content. Ensure that you update this again very soon.
Hey very cool site!! Guy .. Excellent .. Amazing ..
I’ll bookmark your website and take the feeds additionally?
I’m glad to seek out a lot of useful information here within the put up, we want develop extra techniques on this
regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .
You could certainly see your skills within the article
you write. The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe.
At all times follow your heart.
Hi! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after browsing through some of the posts I realized it’s new to me.
Anyhow, I’m definitely pleased I discovered it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back often!
Excellent article. I am experiencing some of these issues as
well..
Hi there are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and create my own. Do you need any html coding knowledge to make your own blog?
Any help would be really appreciated!
For most up-to-date information you have to go to see internet and on the web I found this website as a most excellent
web site for latest updates.
This information is invaluable. Where can I find out more?
I wanted to thank you for this wonderful read!! I definitely enjoyed every bit of it.
I have you book marked to look at new stuff you post…
Wonderful goods from you, man. I have consider your stuff previous to and you are simply too excellent.
I really like what you have obtained here, certainly like what you’re
stating and the way in which you say it. You make it enjoyable
and you still take care of to keep it sensible.
I can not wait to read far more from you. This is actually a terrific
website.
I am regular visitor, how are you everybody?
This post posted at this website is truly
good.
Great site. A lot of useful info here. I’m sending it to a few
pals ans additionally sharing in delicious. And certainly, thanks for your sweat!
Hello would you mind stating which blog platform you’re using?
I’m going to start my own blog soon but I’m having a difficult time deciding
between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask
is because your design and style seems different then most blogs
and I’m looking for something completely unique.
P.S Apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!
이렇게 좋은 정보 들어서 너무 감사해요.
저는 먹튀사이트 를 소개하고 싶은데 한번 봐주시겠어요?
Therre is no limit onn the number of books you cann register inside thhe state.
Feel free to surf to my page :: 카지노사이트
Mobile load times are speedy, and all attributes are
readily available on the go.
My page :: 안전놀이터 (Tanesha)
From credit cards, eWallets, and cryptocurrencies, the Basketball Insiders walks you through thedse user-friendly banking strategies.
Stop by my blog: 스포츠토토
Figuring outt the limitations of nations with legal sportts betting might be hard.
Feel free to visxit my blog; 바카라사이트 (Justina)
Be aware, though, not all casinos present bonjuses to Skrill players.
Stop by mmy web site; 카지노사이트
Theyy accept Bitcoin as deposit and withdrawal selections, and XBet
will cash out your winnings through cryptocurrency witrhin 48 hours.
Here is my web-site … 안전놀이터
BetRivers Ohio will haave a retail sportsbook
at Hall of Famme Village in Canton andd will supply mbile betting through a partnership
with Penn Entertainment’s Hollywood Casino .
Also visit my web-site 바카라사이트
WOW just what I was searching for. Came here by searching for tracfone special
Also visit my webpage – coupon
Who know what putin has done to ukraine? want to find out things not shown in the
news?
Have yall heard of a term called 먹튀검증 because
it is a really interesting term which gave me curiousity on making cash.
Check it out~
https://mailforbob.com/
Love the website– very individual friendly and lots to see! kaufe ribasphere in Genf
To increase the security of your funds, we are requiring withdrawal address whitelisting every time you want to send crypto to a new address. 5) The second screenshot on the right will show the detailed information of the Send transaction that you are about to submit. Press the ‘Send now’ button to continue. Traders have a number of ways to sell their cryptocurrency. Popular crypto exchanges are always a good bet, as they are reliable and well-known, while online platforms with peer-to-peer selling may allow for flexibility of payment. You can go the convenient route and use a Bitcoin ATM to get fast access to your crypto but at a significantly higher commission. Note: Before you can trade Cryptocurrencies, you need to request “Cryptocurrencies” trading permissions; see Cryptocurrencies Permission.
http://aridchicon1973.raidersfanteamshop.com/https-changelly-com-buy-usdtrx
The value of the Dogecoin cryptocurrency increased by 5 percent one hour after Coinbase announced that it will support it. The 5 percent increase in Dogecoin’s value brought it to $0.33. In terms of the variety of goods and services that are possible to buy with Dogecoin, it’s surprisingly vast. From VPNs, VPS, hosting and other digital services to video games and plane tickets, nothing is out of reach when you have some DOGE in your wallet. Wrist Aficionado is the ultimate online marketplace for selling & buying designer wristwatches. Their top-notch service helps relieve the stress of using other, less reputable platforms that one might find themselves using if not for Wrist Aficionado. Pay with Dogecoin and other cryptos via Bitpay.
The shipping costs (within Germany) are a flat rate of 6,95 Euro (incl. VAT) per order. This applies to payment by Paypal as well as by prepayment. If paying by cash on delivery, this costs additional 6,66 Euro. Eliminate the inconvenience of carrying cash by drawing markers to play table games or slots. Markers can be repaid directly at the casino or processed through your personal checking account. For questions or additional information regarding casino credit, please call (580) 898-3637. © Bally’s Corporationdocument.write(‘ ‘+new Date().getFullYear());. All Rights Reserved. Website Design by Vizergy. The WSOP Main Event chipset uses forest green for 25,000 chips, and lavender for 100,000 chips. For 500,000 and above, bigger chips are used. These chips are often referred to as “mini-frisbees” by WSOP announcer Lon McEachern due to their larger physical size.
https://andregjij297520.59bloggers.com/28227278/wild-cherry-slot-machine
Mon – Fri, 9am – 5pm (SGT) Tears of the Kingdom isn’t the only upcoming game about soaring through the skies. Today, developer Snowman, the studio behind the Alto series, properly unveiled its next release: Laya’s Horizon, which was first teased last month. The debut trailer shows off a beautiful world where players soar through forests, mountains, and towns utilizing something like wingsuit flying. It seems like a natural evolution of the Alto games, switching the 2D snow (and sand) boarding gameplay for three-dimensional flying. Xbox Game Pass fans can prepare themselves for an exciting coming-of-age story, coming their way next year as a day one release. In practical terms “DRM-free” means that gamers can play games without needing the platform to “check” if they bought it legitimately or not.
The 1997 National Institute of Health Consensus Statement on acupuncture stated that acupuncture treatment for addiction could be part of a comprehensive management program buy priligy australia