Meta, the company that owns Facebook, saw its stock plunge after-hours Wednesday after unexpectedly heavy spending on its «metaverse» project.
MENLO PARK, Calif. — Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, saw its stock plunge after-hours Wednesday after unexpectedly heavy spending on its «metaverse» project led to a rare decline in its fourth quarter profit. Meta’s shares fell 22.6% to $249.90 in after-hours trading. If the drop holds until the market opens Thursday, the company’s market capitalization — its overall value — is on track to drop by nearly $200 billion. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company said it earned $10.29 billion, or $3.67 per share, in the final three months of 2021. That’s down 8% from $11.22 billion, or $3.88 per share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose to 20% to $33.67 billion. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $3.85 per share on revenue of $33.36 billion, according to a poll by FactSet. Meta invested heavily in its Reality Labs segment — which includes its virtual reality headsets and augmented reality technology — during the quarter, accounting for much of the profit decline.
