London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 15, 2025

Facebook owner Meta in first ever sales fall

Facebook owner Meta in first ever sales fall

The owner of Facebook and Instagram was hit by a fall in advertising sales in the three months to July which caused the first year-on-year revenue decline in the firm's history.

Meta's total revenue slipped 1% to $28.8bn (£23.7bn), but the company fended off a decline in users.

Analysts fear the company's growth may have peaked after years of large gains.

Rivals such as TikTok have eroded its popularity, while more firms are competing for ad spending.

Meta, which typically commands more than 20% of the global ad market, warned investors that ad sales were likely to fall again in the months ahead, as e-commerce spending falls from its pandemic boom and companies worried about inflation and the war in Ukraine spend more cautiously.

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg said the firm would reduce its hiring "steadily" over the next year, a response to the downturn and the company's plans to shift investment into new areas, including its virtual reality platform, Horizon, in a bet that the so-called metaverse is its best prospect for growth.

Those plans have drawn scrutiny from regulators, including the Federal Trade Commission, America's consumer watchdog, which said it would sue to block Meta's acquisition of the virtual reality fitness company Within Unlimited, which owns the app Supernatural, over monopoly concerns.

Any payoff from those plans remains years away, with Meta's struggle to increase its users a sign of limited growth in the years ahead, said Angelo Zino, senior equity analyst at CFRA Research.

"Essentially it's now become a low-to no-growth company," he said.

Earlier this year, Facebook reported its first ever decline in daily users.

In response, the company, which also owns WhatsApp, recently shifted its algorithms on Instagram and Facebook to act more like TikTok, recommending posts to users from outside the base of accounts they follow.

The moves have drawn outcry from users, perhaps most prominently celebrity Kylie Jenner, who shared a post with her more than 360 million followers on Instagram this week saying "Make Instagram Instagram again. (stop trying to be Tiktok I just want to see cute photos of my friends.) Sincerely, everyone".

Kylie Jenner has criticised the changes Meta has made to try to compete with TikTok


But the changes may be helping.

In June, the company said 1.97 billion people logged into Facebook on average each day, up from 1.96 billion in March; and 2.88 billion into one of its apps daily, up from 2.87 billion in March.

Mr Zuckerberg said he was pleased by signs that people were spending more time on the firm's apps, but profits in the quarter still dropped 36% to $6.7bn.

He said the firm would continue to invest, though at a slower pace than planned.

"We face a number of challenges in the near term, but the investments we're making should give us...advantage over the long term," he added.


'Challenging conditions'


Meta, whose number two in command Sheryl Sandberg in June announced plans to leave the company, is not the only firm facing challenges.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, this week reported its slowest revenue growth since the pandemic hit in 2020, with executives repeatedly warning investors that the firm was feeling the impact of economic "uncertainty".

Twitter also reported an unusual fall in revenue, while Snap warned of "incredibly challenging" conditions after its weakest quarter ever, sending shares plunging 25%.

"When you look at the ad space right now...growth is deteriorating at a very fast pace, much faster than most people had anticipated," Mr Zino said.

Meta's reliance on small and medium-sized businesses - which are "spooked" about the economy - makes it particularly vulnerable to any market slowdown, said Nikhil Lai senior analyst for performance marketing at Forrester Research.

The company's fine-tuned model for targeting adverts was also disrupted last year when Apple overhauled its privacy settings.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
×