London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 08, 2025

Facebook's Giant Crash Explained In 10 Points

Facebook's Giant Crash Explained In 10 Points

Facebook growth that had been on a seemingly perpetual upward trend slipped at the end of last year, with the number of people using the social network daily declining

Facebook's parent firm Meta on Thursday plunged over $200 billion in stock value - comparable to the size of New Zealand's economy - after results that raised doubts about the troubled social media giant's future. A few reasons why it happened:

Here's your 10-point cheatsheet to this big story:


1. Facebook growth that had been on a seemingly perpetual upward trend slipped at the end of last year, with the number of people using the social network daily declining. Meta executives warned of increased competition, particularly from video star TikTok as well as messaging services such as Telegram and Slack.

2. The firm is making a priority of investing in its Reels short-form video feature as well as apps such as WhatsApp and Instagram to stay in tune with users. That means spending big on services that are harder to make money from than the Facebook social network with its digital ad machine.

3. Meta executives told analysts that Facebook's ad-targeting efficiency is being undermined by a change Apple implemented to the software running iPhones. In the update of iOS, Apple required application publishers to ask permission before collecting data, much to the regret of companies like Meta that rely on it for ad targeting.

4. As iPhone users opt out of sharing data for targeting ads in Facebook apps, marketing messages become less precisely targeted and thus less profitable. "We believe the impact of iOS, overall, as a headwind on our business in 2022 is on the order of $10 billion," Meta chief financial officer David Wehner said on an earnings call. "So, that is a pretty significant headwind for our business."

5. Advertising at Meta also suffered with the broader market, as businesses curtailed budgets in the face of supply troubles, labour turnover, and pandemic woes. Meta is facing a "perfect storm" countering growth, according to Baird Equity Research analyst Colin Sebastian. "Our concerns about the near-term growth outlook for Meta were not only realized, but worse than we thought," Sebastian said in a note to investors.

6. Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg portrays the metaverse as the future of life on the internet. In that spirit, the tech company changed its name to "Meta." Making the immersive online world of the metaverse is expected to take many years and cost many billions.

7. A "Reality Labs" unit at Meta devoted to technology for intermixing actual and virtual worlds reported a loss of $10 billion last year, according to an earnings release. Major investors in the stock market are notoriously averse to waiting a long time for big returns, tending to trade shares based on potential for quick gains.

8. As Meta looks to make a "transformation" to better compete with the likes of TikTok, a hit with younger users, regulators in the US and elsewhere have vowed to curb its power.

9. A federal judge in January ruled that US regulators' re-worked anti-trust case against Facebook can go ahead, saying the complaint was more robust and detailed than the version denied in 2021.

10. The US Federal Trade Commission has alleged Meta holds an illegal monopoly by acquiring potential competitors that it now owns like Instagram and WhatsApp. The lawsuit, which could take years to go through the courts without a settlement, called for the "divestiture of assets," including WhatsApp and Instagram, to restore competition.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
×