The owner of Facebook’s stock of Meta Platforms Inc. fell more than 20 percent on February 2 after social media companies booked a weaker estimate of estimates, blaming Apple’s privacy changes and increased competition for users like Tiktok.
The user’s active global daily Facebook refused from the previous quarter for the first time, to 1.929 billion from 1.930 billion.
Meta said he faced hits from Apple Inc’s privacy changes to the operating system, which has made it more difficult for brands to target and measure their ads on Facebook and Instagram. It also quotes macroeconomic problems such as supply chain disorders.
The 18-year-old technology giant, who also faced pressure from a platform such as Tiktok and YouTube Google, said it expects the slowdown in revenue growth in the upcoming quarter because of increasing competition for the user’s time and a shift in involvement like it’s a short roll of video offer, which generates fewer income.
Facebook reports 2.91 billion monthly active users in the fourth quarter, showing no growth compared to the previous quarter.
The deterioration of after-hours in meta shares evaporated $ 200 billion from its market value, while Twitter peers Inc., Snap Inc. and Pinterest Inc. lost a value of $ 15 billion.
Alphabet Inc. shares, which posted recorded quarterly sales which topped expectations on February 1, fell by almost 2 percent.
Meta, the owner of the second largest digital advertising platform in the world after Google, previously warned its advertising business to face “significant uncertainty” in the fourth quarter.
Meta Financial Officers, Dave Wehner, told analysts on conference calls that the impact of Apple’s privacy changes could be “in the order of $ 10 billion” for 2022.
Apple changes to the operating software gives users the choice to prevent applications from tracking their online activities for advertising, making it more difficult for advertisers who rely on data to develop new products and know their markets.
Meta estimated first-quarter income in the range of $ 27 billion to $ 29 billion. Analysts expect $ 30.15 billion, according to Ibes data from refinitiv.
“It is clear that there are many large barriers in front because Meta faces a formidable new competition for advertising income such as Tiktok, and when he argues with the target targeting and measurement of advertisements that are ongoing from IOS Apple changes,” said Insider Intiergence Analyst Debra Aho Williamson.
The total company’s revenue, mostly comes from advertising sales, up to $ 33.67 billion in the fourth quarter of $ 28.07 billion per year earlier, defeating analyst estimates of $ 33.40 billion, according to Ibes data from refinitiv.
“I was driven by our progress made this last year in a number of important fields of growth such as rolls, trade, and virtual reality, and we will continue to invest in this regard and other major priorities in 2022 when we work to build this metaverse,” CEO said Mark Zuckerberg in the release of income.
In a meta income call, he said competition for users is one of the factors that affect the business, mentioning Tiktok short video applications with names and emphasizing meta commitments to provide services for young adults.
The net loss of the Meta reality lab, augmented business and the company’s virtual reality, is $ 10.2 billion for the full year 2021, compared to the loss of $ 6.6 billion in the previous year. It was the first time the company broke this segment in the results.
Zuckerberg previously warned that company investment in this field would reduce operating profit of 2021 of $ 10 billion and would not be profitable “anytime in the near future.”
Labs reality posted revenues of around $ 2.3 billion in 2021. The company has not published a sales number for the virtual reality search headset.
The company said on Wednesday that this year would change the Ticker of its shares to “Meta,” the latest steps in the rebrand to focus on metaverse (AR), a futuristic idea of a virtual environment where users can work, socialize, and play. Meta does not comment on the price of agreement with Roundhill investment, which said in January it will stop using a symbol for the Ball Roundhill Metavers ETF.
Technology giants, which change their names in October to reflect the purpose of the metavies, bet Metavers will be the successor to cellular internet.
“Investors who saw Meta began to realize that buying their shares was no longer an investment into their advertising platform,” said Flynn Zaiger, CEO of Optimism Online Social Media Agency. “Investing in Meta now looks more like a commitment that you believe that Metavers will replace most of the current internet consumer experiences.”
Rebrand Meta comes when increasing the supervision of parliamentarians and regulators on charges of anticompompetitive behavior and the impact on how to handle dangerous or misleading content across the Facebook and Instagram platform.