Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc’s shares plunged more than 20% late on Wednesday after the social media company posted a weaker-than-expected forecast, blaming Apple’s privacy changes and increased competition for users from rivals like TikTok.
Facebook’s global daily active users declined from the previous quarter for the first time, to 1.929 billion from 1.930 billion.
Meta said it faced hits from Apple Inc’s privacy changes to its operating system, which have made it harder for brands to target and measure their ads on Facebook and Instagram. It also cited macroeconomic issues like supply-chain disruptions.
The 18-year-old tech giant, which also faces pressure from platforms like TikTok and Google’s YouTube, said it expected slowing revenue growth in the coming quarter due to increased competition for users’ time and a shift of engagement toward such features as its short video offering Reels, which generate less revenue.
Facebook reported 2.91 billion monthly active users in the fourth quarter, showing no growth compared with the previous quarter.
The after-hours slump in Meta shares vaporized $200 billion of its market value, while peers Twitter Inc, Snap Inc, and Pinterest Inc lost another $15 billion in value.
Shares of Alphabet Inc, which posted record quarterly sales that topped expectations on Tuesday, were down nearly 2%.
Meta, owner of the second-largest digital ad platform in the world after Google, had previously warned its advertising business faced “significant uncertainty” in the fourth quarter.
Meta’s chief financial officer, Dave Wehner, told analysts on a conference call that the impact of Apple’s privacy changes could be “in the order of $10 billion” for 2022.
Apple’s changes to its operating software give users the choice to prevent apps from tracking their online activity for ads, making it harder for advertisers that rely on data to develop new products and know their market.
Meta forecast first-quarter revenue in the range of $27 billion to $29 billion. Analysts were expecting $30.15 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
“It’s clear that there are many big roadblocks ahead as Meta faces tough new competition for ad revenue such as TikTok, and as it contends with ongoing ad targeting and measurement challenges from Apple’s iOS changes,” said Insider Intelligence analyst Debra Aho Williamson.
The company’s total revenue, the bulk of which comes from ad sales, rose to $33.67 billion in the fourth quarter from $28.07 billion a year earlier, beating analysts’ estimates of $33.40 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
“I’m encouraged by the progress we made this past year in a number of important growth areas like Reels, commerce, and virtual reality, and we’ll continue investing in these and other key priorities in 2022 as we work towards building the metaverse,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in the earnings release.
