Due to the fall in quotes, the capitalization of Meta Platforms* decreased by $200 billion, and Mark Zuckerberg's fortune decreased by $18 billion
( Photo: Shutterstock)
Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and chief executive officer of Meta Platforms* (*recognized in Russia as an extremist organization and banned, like the social networks Facebook and Instagram it owns), lost more than $18 billion in one day amid a fall in Meta shares at auction on April 25, according to evidence Bloomberg data.
On Wednesday, April 24, the American technology company Meta Platforms* published its financial report for the first quarter of 2024. Meta Platforms* reported revenues and earnings above expectations, but provided weaker-than-expected revenue guidance. In addition, investors are concerned about “too much investment in artificial intelligence,” CNBC reports.
The company’s shares fell 11% after the earnings release, the biggest drop since October 2022. At the moment, the price of securities fell during trading on the NASDAQ exchange by 16.01%, reaching $414.5 per share – the minimum since February 2024. As a result, Meta*'s capitalization decreased by $200 billion.
Not all investors are positive about the shift in focus to the active development of artificial intelligence. “Investors are skeptical about rising AI spending. Some of these investments can take years to pay off,” said Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence.
“Historically, investing in creating new scalable products in our applications has been a very good long-term investment for us and for the investors who have stayed with us, and the early signs here are also very positive. However, building an AI infrastructure will be a larger task than other tasks, and it will likely take several years,” Zuckerberg said. The company raised its forecast for capital expenditures on infrastructure for AI for 2024 from $30–37 billion to $35–40 billion.
At the end of the first quarter, Meta Platforms* revenue grew 27% to $36.5 billion, exceeding Wall Street expectations of $36.2 billion. More than 97% of the company's revenue in the first quarter came from advertising. The company's net profit amounted to $12.4 billion, which is double the figure for the same period in 2023. On a per-share basis, earnings were $4.71, versus analysts' expectations of $4.32, according to CNBC.
Meta* cut its second-quarter revenue forecast to $37.8 billion, versus analysts' expectations of $38 .3 billion
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of April 26, Mark Zuckerberg ranks fourth on the list of the world's richest people with a fortune of $157 billion. The first position is occupied by Bernard Arnault with a fortune of about $217 billion. , in second place is Jeff Bezos ($196 billion), in third is Elon Musk ($184 billion). In fifth place is Bill Gates, his capital is estimated at $149 billion.
*Meta Platforms, the company that owns the WhatsApp messenger and social networks Facebook and Instagram, is recognized in Russia as an extremist organization and is banned, like both social networks . Russia imposed sanctions against the head of the American corporation Meta Platforms Mark Zuckerberg in April 2022, the businessman was on the stop list.