Shares of Facebook Parent Meta Plunge 23 Percent on Lower Profits

Shares of Facebook Parent Meta Plunge 23 Percent on Lower Profits
Facebook employees take a photo with the company's new name and logo outside its headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., on Oct. 28, 2021. Tony Avelar/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:

Newly renamed Meta is investing heavily in its futuristic “metaverse” project, but for now, relies on advertising revenue for nearly all its income. So when it posted sharply higher costs but gave a weak revenue forecast late Wednesday, investors got spooked—and knocked almost $200 billion off the valuation of the company formerly known as Facebook.

Meta’s shares fell 22.9 percent to $249.05 in after-hours trading. If the drop holds until the market opens Thursday, the company’s overall value, known as its market capitalization, is on track to drop by a figure greater than the size of the entire Greek economy, based on data from the World Bank.