Facebook Parent Suffers

Following a less-than-stellar earnings report that revealed a slowdown in Facebook’s growth, privacy headwinds fanned by Apple and high costs associated with the transition to the Metaverse, Meta’s share price plummeted by 26 percent on Thursday, wiping out $252 billion in market capitalization.

It was the biggest single-day drop in market capitalization in U.S. corporate history, blowing past the previous record set by Apple on September 3, 2020. Back then, the iPhone maker had shed $180 billion in market cap amid a broader market sell-off. As the following chart, based on Bloomberg calculations, shows, major tech companies have suffered the biggest single-day losses in recent years, which is no surprise considering their trillion-dollar valuations.

To put Meta’s record-breaking wipeout in perspective, it’s worth looking at the market capitalization of some other Fortune 500 companies. Speaking in those terms, Facebook’s parent lost one Nike, two IBMs or three General Motors on Thursday.