Why Facebook-Parent Meta's Stock Crashed 23% After-Hours Today

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc FB shares plunged nearly 23% to $249.05 in after-hours trading on Wednesday.

What’s Moving? The Mark Zuckerberg-led company declared fourth-quarter earnings per share of $3.67 on Wednesday, missing the Street estimate of $3.84.

Revenue in the period came in at $33.67 billion, which was above the estimated $33.38 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

In regular trading, Meta shares had closed 1.25% higher at $323.

See Also: How To Buy Facebook (FB) Shares

Why It’s Moving? Meta reported its first-ever quarterly decline of daily Facebook users globally from 1.93 billion in the third quarter to 1.929 billion in Q4.

Facebook alone saw its daily users decline by 1 million in North America, an important advertising market.

Facebook Daily Active Users — Source: Meta Q4 Earnings Presentation

This is the first such decline for Facebook since its inception in 2004 as investors worry that it could be an indication that Meta’s social offerings have reached saturation worldwide.

While Facebook recently rebranded as Meta as it turns its eyes on metaverse, its Reality Labs (augmented reality, virtual reality, software, content)  revenue was a relatively tiny $877 million, up from $558 million in the preceding quarter. 

Meta also operates social media platforms Instagram and WhatsApp.

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