https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/facebook-stock-plunge-1.4762449
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Facebook lost more than $100 billion US in market capitalization in early trading Thursday. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)
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Alice Barton
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Ken MacDonald
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Bill Edward Goate
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Clarence Hemeon
![Troy Mann]()
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Jane Watson
![Peter Hill]()
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Peter MacDonald
![Karen King]()
![Bob Fuchs]()
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![David Amos]()
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Rob Smith
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![Paul Reed]()
Paul Reed
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Elias Snodgrass
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Facebook lost more than $100 billion US in market capitalization in early trading Thursday. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)
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Facebook sees biggest stock market value drop in history as growth slows
Social media giant loses more than $100 billion in early trading after earnings and forecasts disappoint
Comments
Sam Philip
Who really cares about fakebook?
David Amos
@Sam Philip Methinks you should if the CPP dudes or whomever is managing your other pension have invested in it N'esy Pas?
Alice Barton
Facebook is nothing but an inflated balloon waiting to burst. They produce nothing, service nothing and only cater to a gossip hungry audience.
David Amos
@Alice Barton YUP
Ken MacDonald
Amazing that a company that produces no product and uses people's info to deliver ad-based content survived as long as it has.
David Amos
@Ken MacDonald I agree
Bill Edward Goate
I fine it hilarious when Facebook starts talking about "Community Standards" as though we're all on the same team or working towards a shared goal.
David Amos
@Bill Edward Goate Methinks its rather comical to read such an opinion from somebody who obviously doesn't obey CBC's rules for commenting here N'esy Pas?
Clarence Hemeon
Couldn't make me happier. What goes around comes around.
Troy Mann
@Clarence Hemeon
Many good honest people own stocks in Facebook and rely on them for retirement. Most likely if you own mutual funds you own a portion of Facebook.
Many good honest people own stocks in Facebook and rely on them for retirement. Most likely if you own mutual funds you own a portion of Facebook.
Jennifer McIsaac
@Troy Mann
I think you would be foolish to put a lot of money in tech stocks such as Facebook as they are so pricey and risky and hardly any better to buy mutual fund rather than a balanced group of ETFs - especially for retirement unless you are very young.
I think you would be foolish to put a lot of money in tech stocks such as Facebook as they are so pricey and risky and hardly any better to buy mutual fund rather than a balanced group of ETFs - especially for retirement unless you are very young.
David Amos
@Troy Mann Cry me a river
David Amos
@Jennifer McIsaac Methinks you don't know who Mr Mann works for N'esy Pas?
Jane Watson
So... Facebook is trying to become more socially responsible rather than socially exploitative and profits are slowing... and investors are leaving like rats off a sinking ship.
Perhaps society should stop catering to rats.
Perhaps society should stop catering to rats.
Peter Hill
@Jane Watson
Their growth was only 11%
Their growth was only 11%
David Amos
@Peter Hill Go figure how greedy people look at things. their money is invested in and how they react to speculation. Methinks they make no sense most of the time N'esy Pas?
Peter MacDonald
So, does Facebook produce anything of value? Can you eat it, build with it, get clean water from it, get health care or a good education, provide transportation to get you to your appointments or vacation destination? No? An economic system is supposed to provide goods and services. Facebook doesn't really provide anything required by anyone. Not only do we have to live with fake news, but now a fake economy.
Karen King
@Peter MacDonald
Huh it's called capitalism, only about half of the things produced are necessary, actually probably half of that. We only need food, shelter and clothing (basics) everything else is gravy.
Capitalism creates a need for stuff we don't need.
Huh it's called capitalism, only about half of the things produced are necessary, actually probably half of that. We only need food, shelter and clothing (basics) everything else is gravy.
Capitalism creates a need for stuff we don't need.
Bob Fuchs
@Peter MacDonald
That's a very idealistic (and utlilitarian) view of the economy. What is the "value" of tobacco products? What is the "value" of alcohol? What is the "value" of sporting activities? Or the arts?
If someone is willing to pay money for something, it has value. That's the way markets work.
That's a very idealistic (and utlilitarian) view of the economy. What is the "value" of tobacco products? What is the "value" of alcohol? What is the "value" of sporting activities? Or the arts?
If someone is willing to pay money for something, it has value. That's the way markets work.
David Amos
@Bob Fuchs "What is the "value" of tobacco products?"
Methinks Indian folks use tobacco to make peace. Perhaps Yankees should make Trump learn to use a peace pipe sometime soon. That would help the economy N'esy Pas?
Methinks Indian folks use tobacco to make peace. Perhaps Yankees should make Trump learn to use a peace pipe sometime soon. That would help the economy N'esy Pas?
David Amos
@Karen King "Capitalism creates a need for stuff we don't need."
Methinks a lot of snobby beancounters give the wacko Adam Smith the credit for dreaming up Capitalism when he called us consumers N'esy Pas?
Methinks a lot of snobby beancounters give the wacko Adam Smith the credit for dreaming up Capitalism when he called us consumers N'esy Pas?
Rob Smith
Note to all FB haters: membership is free and completely voluntary. If you don't like any aspect of it, don't join or cancel your membership if you're already in. They are NOT a public utility and they don't owe you anything, unless you're a shareholder.
Doyle Dykk
@Rob Smith
Facebook got tRump elected. That affects everybody, whether or not they join. So count me in with those who would like to see them crash.
Facebook got tRump elected. That affects everybody, whether or not they join. So count me in with those who would like to see them crash.
David Amos
@Doyle Dykk Methinks Obama and Hillary and nearly every other Yankee and Canadian politician benefited a lot from Facebook as well N'esy Pas?
Paul Reed
The growth has slowed. Everything has a saturation point, and it would seem FB is approaching it.
No big surprise.
No big surprise.
David Amos
@Paul Reed I concur
Elias Snodgrass
Farcebook is way overvalued
David Amos
@Elias Snodgrass YUP
Facebook sees biggest stock market value drop in history as growth slows
Social media giant loses more than $100 billion in early trading after earnings and forecasts disappoint
Facebook lost more than $100 billion US in market value Thursday after the social media company posted earnings a day earlier that showed slowing growth.
The value was down by even more overnight after the company posted quarterly results late Wednesday showing its growth was grinding to a halt in Europe and North America, at a time when increased privacy safeguards would raise its cost of business.
The company closed at $217.50 a share on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, but that was before earnings came out. Then came the plunge in after-hours trading, after the company revealed it had 2.23 billion monthly users in its last quarter, up 11 per cent from last year's level, but well short of what industry analysts had been expecting.
In North America, the daily user number was flat at 185 million, and in Europe it actually declined by three million people a day. All of this was enough to spook investors in the shares on the Nasdaq when the market opened on Thursday morning. Shares were trading at $175.75, down about 19 per cent, nearing midday.
The previous one-day record was held by Intel, which lost $91 billion during the dot-com bust in September 2000.
At least 16 brokerages cut their price targets for the company after the company posted its results.
"With stagnating core user growth, we think there is too much near- to mid-term uncertainty to recommend shares at this point," Japanese investment bank Nomura said.
Before the earnings report, the bank had forecast Facebook shares would soon be worth $228 each. On Thursday, they downgraded that figure to $183, only slightly higher than where they are now.
Others are even more pessimistic. "Our view is that the company is far from out of the woods," Brian Wieser of Pivotal Research said. He was one of the few analysts to have a "sell" rating on the company even before Wednesday.
Specifically, Wieser says new European rules about company obligations to protect consumer privacy known as GDPR may prove to be expensive for the company in the long run.
"The bundling of consent for Facebook to use consumer data with access to the platform appears to be an aggressive interpretation of GDPR, and one that might be more subject to eventual regulatory action," Wieser said.
"While those actions might take time to play out, it is still possible that threatened fines associated with GDPR to Facebook or other sellers of advertising could also have the effect of spooking advertisers into changing how they use data," said Wieser, who thinks the shares should be worth $140 US — well below Thursday's level.
The value was down by even more overnight after the company posted quarterly results late Wednesday showing its growth was grinding to a halt in Europe and North America, at a time when increased privacy safeguards would raise its cost of business.
The company closed at $217.50 a share on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, but that was before earnings came out. Then came the plunge in after-hours trading, after the company revealed it had 2.23 billion monthly users in its last quarter, up 11 per cent from last year's level, but well short of what industry analysts had been expecting.
In North America, the daily user number was flat at 185 million, and in Europe it actually declined by three million people a day. All of this was enough to spook investors in the shares on the Nasdaq when the market opened on Thursday morning. Shares were trading at $175.75, down about 19 per cent, nearing midday.
The previous one-day record was held by Intel, which lost $91 billion during the dot-com bust in September 2000.
At least 16 brokerages cut their price targets for the company after the company posted its results.
"With stagnating core user growth, we think there is too much near- to mid-term uncertainty to recommend shares at this point," Japanese investment bank Nomura said.
Before the earnings report, the bank had forecast Facebook shares would soon be worth $228 each. On Thursday, they downgraded that figure to $183, only slightly higher than where they are now.
Others are even more pessimistic. "Our view is that the company is far from out of the woods," Brian Wieser of Pivotal Research said. He was one of the few analysts to have a "sell" rating on the company even before Wednesday.
Specifically, Wieser says new European rules about company obligations to protect consumer privacy known as GDPR may prove to be expensive for the company in the long run.
"The bundling of consent for Facebook to use consumer data with access to the platform appears to be an aggressive interpretation of GDPR, and one that might be more subject to eventual regulatory action," Wieser said.
"While those actions might take time to play out, it is still possible that threatened fines associated with GDPR to Facebook or other sellers of advertising could also have the effect of spooking advertisers into changing how they use data," said Wieser, who thinks the shares should be worth $140 US — well below Thursday's level.
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