Facebook stock dropped by more than 3 percent after the company revealed more than 50 million accounts might have been affected by a security breach.
Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) is the world’s largest, and arguably most influential, social media platform, with more than 2.23 billion monthly active users as of June 2018, including more than 210 million in the U. S. alone. Whether you use Facebook to stay in touch with friends or to build a brand, it’s hard to deny its ubiquity and reach. However, Facebook stock dropped by more than 3 percent Friday, Sept. 28, after the company revealed more than 50 million accounts might have been affected by a security breach. The data breach involved the platform’s “View As” feature. Facebook reset the logins of more than 90 million accounts as the first step in dealing with the hack.
The company went public in May 2012, and in 2018, it was continuing to attract investors despite privacy concerns. Specially since the co-founders of Instagram — the popular photo app that Facebook bought in April 2012 for $1 billion — have stepped down, the social media giant must contend with another financial blow.
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Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, who founded Instagram in 2010, have decided to step down from their positions as CEO and chief technology officer, respectively. Facebook shares fell by 2.6 percent on Sept. 25 following the news. Instagram is expected to generate more than $8 billion in revenue in 2018, reported Bloomberg. The platform represents about 14 percent of its ad revenue, according to a story on CNBC, and is included among several companies that Facebook has acquired.
The Instagram-related news adds to an already-tumultuous year for Facebook. On July 25,2018, shares of the social media company dropped 20 percent, causing CEO Mark Zuckerberg to lose $16.8 billion, according to Bloomberg. On July 30, Facebook stock suffered a third decline as MarketWatch reported that shares were down 3.2 percent in morning trade, for a 22 percent fall from its record close just five days earlier. In early September, FB stock took another hit as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg was questioned about the company’s role in the 2016 U. S. presidential elections, and possible Russian interference in the democratic process through the social media platform. Shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) fell 1.43 percent by mid-day, Markets Insider reported.
Will the company be able to bounce back from its biggest failure? Analysts seem to think so, as they’re recommending buying Facebook’s now-discounted stock, which indicates the expectation of a rebound in value.
