Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth takes $29 billion hit
Prior to the stock's slide, Zuckerberg's wealth stood at $114.4 billion
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Mark Zuckerberg's personal net worth has taken a nosedive after Facebook's stock tanked over 20% on weaker-than-expected earnings.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| META | META PLATFORMS INC. | 559.14 | -3.95 | -0.70% |
Over $29 billion has been shaved off his personal fortune which now stands, per Forbes, around $88 billion, down from $114.4 billion before the slide.
Shares of the company, which recently changed its name to Meta Platforms, are down over 24% mid-morning and are on pace for the biggest percentage drop in its history.
Over $219 billion in market value has been erased, the most for any U.S. company in a single day, according to Dow Jones Market Data Group.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a joint hearing of the Commerce and Judiciary Committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 10, 2018, about the use of Facebook data to target American voters in the 2016 election. (AP Photo/Al (AP)
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In the fourth quarter, net income fell to $10.2 billion from $11.2 billion during the same period a year ago, or $3.67 versus $3.88 per share. Revenue rose to $33.6 billion from $28 billion a year ago. Daily active users rose 5% to 1.93 billion.
Zuckerberg noted on the company's fourth-quarter earnings call that advertisers' budgets were impacted by macroeconomic challenges, including inflation and supply chain disruptions. Additionally, Apple's iOS update is expected to put a $10 billion dent in its revenue for 2022. Meta is forecasting first quarter 2022 revenue between $27 billion and $29 billion, below the $30 billion or so analysts were expecting.
Meta's Reality Labs segment, which focuses on virtual and augmented reality, reported separately from its family of apps for the first time. The segment saw a fourth-quarter operating loss of $3.3 billion and $877 million in revenue driven by strong holiday sales of the Quest 2 VR headset.
Zuckerberg has teased that the segment will be important in the company's efforts to develop the metaverse, an immersive online space where users can work, play games and interact with others as avatars in a computer-generated environment.
Zuckerberg: Getty Images. Former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen testifies before a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on Capitol Hill, October 5, 2021, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer / POO (Photo by DREW ANGERER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The company announced its shift in focus to the metaverse in October after rebranding itself amid a public relations crisis. Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager turned whistleblower, went public last year with allegations that the tech giant ignored questionable and harmful content to prioritize profits over its users, among other things. Haugen released a trove of documents related to her claims to multiple news organizations at the same time, including FOX Business. Facebook has disputed many of her claims.
The company's ticker will change from FB to META in the first half of the year while continuing its listing on the Nasdaq.