Facebook parent company Meta slumped more than 26 per cent overnight, erasing more than $US237 billion ($332 billion) in market value, the largest one-day drop in history, also taking $US29 billion ($40 billion) off the personal wealth of founder Mark Zuckerberg.
This decline marked the company’s worst one-day loss since its Wall Street debut in 2012, and the biggest single-day loss of dollar value by any listed firm.
Mr Zuckerberg’s nearly $US30 billion drop in personal wealth was the second-largest one-day personal loss in history according to US financial news outlet CNBC.
According to CNBC, the biggest one-day personal drop in wealth was a $US35 billion loss for Tesla founder Elon Musk in November.
However, according to the Forbes real time billionaires index, Mr Zuckerberg still has an estimated personal fortune of nearly $US85 billion ($119 billion).
Mr Zuckerberg was not the only one losing a lot of money overnight.
Meta’s lofty stock price, as with several other big communications and technology companies, has an outsized influence on markets.
That means a big swing in either direction for such a company can do much to sink or lift the broader market.
The tech focused Nasdaq, of which Meta is a major part, plunged 3.7 per cent, to close at 13,879.
From News Corp.
PayPal stock closes down 24% in worst-ever trading day
Shares of PayPal closed down 24% on Wednesday, a day after the company provided weak guidance that it blamed in part on inflation.
PayPal reported mixed results for the fourth quarter. Earnings per share of $1.11, ex-items, missed the $1.12 expected. It beat on revenue estimates, though, reporting $6.92 billion vs. $6.87 billion expected, according to Refinitiv.
But it also said it expects first-quarter non-GAAP earnings per share of 87 cents, while analysts had been projecting $1.16. It also anticipated that revenue would grow about 15% to 17% for full-year 2022, on a spot and foreign currency-neutral basis. Analysts expected year-over-year revenue growth of 17.9% for 2022.
From CNBC
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