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☆ Meta investors reportedly 'got more disgusted' with Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse plans after he doubled down in the company's earnings
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Meta shareholders are becoming frustrated with Mark Zuckerberg's plans, Financial Times reported. Investors expressed their anger in meetings with Meta executives over the past week, per FT.Meta's shares plunged after its quarterly earnings report showed Zuckerberg was doubling down. Last week, Meta shares plummeted 24% after the company missed earnings targets and Zuckerberg said he intents to spend billions more on the metaverse project in the coming year. Investors have expressed their ire and frustration in meetings with Meta executives, including some with Zuckerberg over the past week, FT reported. Financial Times' recent report came after another investor published an open letter ahead of the company's quarterly earnings report, saying Meta has "lost the confidence of investors."

☆ Tech companies like Amazon and Meta are warning of tough times ahead — and only some are prepared
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

While Apple is a "bright spot," Meta, Alphabet, and others are in for a tough few months, analysts say. All signs point to choppy waters ahead — for tech giants, the people they employ, and the users they serve. So, if things are getting bad, how are the big tech companies likely to fare? AppleApple is in the best shape, a "bright spot" amid otherwise grim big tech earnings, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note. Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a note Tuesday that there's potential for a rebound next year.

☆ More than $3.2 trillion has been wiped off tech giants' value this year as inflation soars and a recession looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The biggest tech stocks have shed about $3.2 trillion in value this year. Major tech stocks battled against soaring inflation at the start of the year, which hurt investor confidence about their ability to pass on rising costs to customers. Apple managed to buck the trend and added $178 billion to its market value on Friday after better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits. It lost another $80 billion in value this week to $266 billion after posting its first quarterly revenue drop. Meta stock is down 70% since the start of this year.

☆ Meta has spent $36 billion building the metaverse but still has little to show for it, while tech sensations such as the iPhone, Xbox, and Amazon Echo cost way less
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Meta has thrown $36 billion at the metaverse but plans to spend many billions more on the project. Wary investors are calling for Meta to focus its effort on its profitable divisions. Insider compiled a list of tech breakthroughs that cost far less than the metaverse push. Meta, according to an Insider analysis of the firm's financial filings, has pumped $36 billion into its Reality Labs division since 2019. However, Mark Zuckerberg is continuing to pour billions into his metaverse dream, arguing that it's the future of computing.

☆ Meta has pumped $36 billion into its metaverse and VR businesses since 2019. These 4 charts show the scale of its extreme spending — and huge losses.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Meta has pumped $36 billion into its Reality Labs division since 2019, an Insider analysis found. The division, comprising Meta's metaverse and VR businesses, made a $30.7 billion operating loss over the same period. "We do anticipate that Reality Labs operating losses in 2023 will grow significantly year-over-year," CFO David Wehner said. Grace Dean/InsiderCosts and expenses for Reality Labs amounted to $12.5 billion for the full-year 2021, and the division brought in $2.3 billion revenue. And despite the ballooning losses at Reality Labs, Zuckerberg said Wednesday he's "pretty confident" the company is heading "in a good direction."

☆ Wall Street is fed up with Meta - but Zuck’s full steam ahead with his massive metaverse bet.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Since Meta reported earnings on Wednesday, its stock has shed more than 23%. Everyone on Wall Street is mad that Meta keeps spending so much. Investors and analysts took the day yesterday to digest the tech giant's latest earnings, and it's clear patience is wearing thin. Mega-cap tech stocks like Zucks' behemoth are facing a possible crisis, with other giants like Google parent Alphabet reporting slowdowns in digital advertising growth. Wall Street is grappling with the "revenge of the old economy" as tech and growth stocks crash.

[1/3] Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen on smartphone in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. Executives announced plans to consolidate offices and said Meta would keep headcount flat through the end of 2023. Meta also forecast that its full-year 2023 total expenses would be $96 billion to $101 billion, significantly higher than a revised estimate for 2022 total expenses of $85 billion to $87 billion. It also forecast that operating losses associated with the Reality Labs unit responsible for its metaverse investments would grow in 2023 and pledged to "pace" investments after that. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has said he expects the metaverse investments to take about a decade to bear fruit.

☆ Facebook's identity crisis is costing Zuckerberg billions, and he's ok with it
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Meta expects "significantly" higher losses for the Reality Labs unit handling the development of the metaverse. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday that investors who are patient will "end up being rewarded." Meta's share price slumped nearly 20% to $104.30 in after-hours trade, following its earnings announcement. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops — delivered daily to your inbox. But it's a "pretty wide portfolio" with other initiatives, such as a social metaverse platform, Zuckerberg added.

One Meta shareholder had recently voiced concerns calling the company's investments "super-sized and terrifying". Analysts on Wednesday called them "confusing and confounding" and Meta's inability to cut costs "extremely disturbing". In the July-September quarter, losses at Reality Labs ballooned to a whopping $3.67 billion from $2.63 billion a year earlier. In an open letter to Zuckerberg on Monday, Meta shareholder Altimeter Capital Management called on Meta to streamline by cutting jobs and capital expenditure. The fund suggested Meta cap annual investments in the metaverse to $5 billion instead of the current $10 billion.

☆ Zuckerberg motivates supervoting stock resistance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Oct 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Mark Zuckerberg is providing fresh motivation for investors everywhere. If there was ever a time for shareholders to rally against the sort of dual-class structures that surrender control to entrepreneurs, Zuckerberg has provided the ammunition. At the time of the stock sale, Zuckerberg commanded 57% of the vote with just a 28% economic stake, subjugating other owners with supervoting shares that carry 10 votes apiece. Meta reckons its board is sufficiently independent to keep watch over Zuckerberg, despite his codified influence over it. Rejecting supervoting stock would be the best option.

☆ Cramer: I was wrong about Meta, never thought Zuckerberg would spend without any discipline
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Jim Cramer on Thursday apologized for thinking Meta Platforms (META) would be disciplined on expense growth during this period of economic uncertainty. Cramer's expression of regret came as shares of Club holding Meta plunged in premarket Thursday, falling more than 23% to below $100 apiece. "I had thought there'd be an understanding that you just can't spend and spend right through your free cash flow, that there had to be some level of discipline," Cramer said. I did not think the company would be as ill-advised as to spend through what they have, without any discipline whatsoever," Cramer said. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Mark Zuckerberg says he's 'pretty confident' Meta is heading in a 'good direction' as stock crashes 20% after huge earnings miss
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday he was "pretty confident" Meta is heading "in a good direction." He spoke after Meta's third-quarter earnings missed Wall Street's forecasts and its stock crashed 20%. Meta's third-quarter net income crashed 52% year-on-year, to $4.4 billion, as R&D costs jumped 45% largely because of the company's investments in the metaverse. The scale of Meta's metaverse investments are being closely scrutinized by investors who are concerned they're detracting from the company's core social-media businesses, such as Facebook and Instagram. Reality Labs, which handles Oculus and everything metaverse-related, reported third-quarter revenue of just $285 million – a drop of almost half compared with the same period in 2021.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Meta Platforms, ServiceNow, Teladoc, Credit Suisse & more
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

McDonald's — The fast-food giant's shares got a 2.8% lift after the company beat earnings expectations for its most recent quarter. Align Technology — The Invisalign maker saw its shares tumble 18% after it posted disappointing earnings for the most recent quarter. Credit Suisse — Shares of the Swiss bank plummeted 19.5% after Credit Suisse posted a greater-than-expected loss for the third quarter. ServiceNow — The stock jumped 13% after ServiceNow surpassed earnings expectations in its most recent quarter. Comcast — The media giant's stock rose 4.8% after topping analysts' earnings expectations for the third quarter.

☆ Meta shares plunge 23% on downgrades, missed earnings and big spending on metaverse
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Sofia Pitt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of Meta plunged 23% in premarket trading Thursday as investors and analysts digested the company's third-quarter earnings miss and a weak fourth-quarter outlook. The parent company of Facebook reported quarterly revenue of $27.7 billion Wednesday, a decline of more than 4% year over year and its second straight quarterly decline. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reiterated his commitment to spending billions of dollars developing the metaverse. He expects the company's issues to persist as Meta continues to increase spending to build out its AI capabilities. Since the start of the year, Meta shares are down by more than 61%.

☆ Meta says it's laying off staff and easing off hiring to reduce costs – but will keep pumping billions into Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Meta is cutting hiring and laying off staff to trim costs, CFO David Wehner said Wednesday. But Meta will continue pumping billions into its metaverse business, execs said Wednesday. Meta expects its headcount to remain roughly flat between now and the end of 2023, Wehner said. "We do anticipate that Reality Labs operating losses in 2023 will grow significantly year-over-year," Wehner said. Meta has been under pressure from Wall Street to reduce spending, especially on its metaverse projects.

☆ Meta shares drop 12% on weak fourth-quarter forecast and earnings miss
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | Jonathan Vanian Is A Technology Reporter For Cnbc.Com | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Meta shares plummeted in extended trading on Wednesday after Facebook’s parent issued a weak forecast for the fourth quarter and came up well short of Wall Street’s expectations for earnings. Meta is contending with a broad slowdown in online ad spending, challenges from Apple’s iOS privacy update and increased competition from TikTok. Add it up, and Meta is expected to post its third straight quarter of declining sales for the year. The company said revenue for the fourth quarter will be $30 billion to $32.5 billion. Meta earnings summary Earnings per share (EPS): $1.64 vs $1.89 expected, according to Refinitiv$1.64 vs $1.89 expected, according to Refinitiv Revenue : $27.71 billion vs. $27.38 billion expected, according to Refinitiv: $27.71 billion vs. $27.38 billion expected, according to Refinitiv Daily Active Users (DAUs) : 1.98 billion vs 1.98 billion expected, according to StreetAccount: 1.98 billion vs 1.98 billion expected, according to StreetAccount Monthly Active Users (MAUs) : 2.96 billion vs 2.94 billion expected, according to StreetAccount: 2.96 billion vs 2.94 billion expected, according to StreetAccount Average Revenue per User (ARPU): $9.41 vs. $9.83 expected, according to StreetAccountThe Facebook parent’s operating margin, or the profits left after accounting for costs to run the business, sank to 20% from 36% a year earlier.

☆ Meta’s Reverse Darkens Mark Zuckerberg’s Dream
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Laura Forman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Mark Zuckerberg wants to sell the world on his “amazing” $1,500 virtual-reality headset. Meta Platforms said Wednesday that its revenue fell 4% year on year in the third quarter—its second consecutive quarter of annual declines—while net income fell 52%. For the fourth quarter, the company formerly known as Facebook is forecasting revenue to fall ever further annually with the midpoint of its outlook implying a drop of about 7%. Meanwhile, although Meta claims to be making changes across the board to operate more efficiently, its expense projection for the full year remains little changed. Beyond that, the company said it expects operating losses for its Reality Labs division, which houses its metaverse ambitions, to grow significantly next year.

☆ Metaverse-obsessed Mark Zuckerberg refuses to cut costs. It's no wonder the stock tanked
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Club holding Meta Platforms (META) reported mixed third-quarter results and weak forward guidance after the closing bell Wednesday. While beating expectations, revenue for Q3 dropped 4% to $27.71 billion. As for profitability, Family of Apps operating income came in at $9.34 billion, short versus expectations of $9.65 billion. Facebook Global Average Revenue per User (ARPU): $9.41 versus expectations of $9.83. Capital expenditures (capex) guidance was tightened to a range of $32 billion to $33 billion versus $30 billion to $34 billion previously forecast and above the $30.41 billion consensus.

☆ Meta posts second-ever quarterly revenue decline and hints at cost cutting efforts
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

For the three months ended in September, Meta (FB) posted revenue of $27.7 billion, down 4% year-over-year and slightly above Wall Street analysts’ expectations. The Facebook parent company posted its first-ever quarterly revenue decline during the June quarter. The company reported net income of nearly $4.4 billion — less than half the amount it made during the same period in the prior year and below analysts’ projections. Meta reported having 2.96 billion monthly active users on its core Facebook app at the end of the quarter, up 2% year-over-year. “We are holding some teams at in terms of headcount, shrinking others and investing headcount growth only in our highest priorities,” Wehner said.

☆ Meta’s spending splurge starts to look troubling
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Last year, existing operations generated enough cash to justify the spending spree. If results slip – and the third quarter suggests they could – spending will become a problem. Mark Zuckerberg’s company posted operating income of $5.6 billion, almost half of what it was in the third quarter of 2021, as margins also declined considerably. Last year’s $59 billion in operating cash flow underpinned Zuckerberg’s bold initiative. The company said that daily active users grew to nearly 2 billion, a 3% increase year-on-year.

☆ Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg knows his metaverse pivot isn't popular with everyone, but said 'people are going to look back decades from now' and realize its importance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Mark Zuckerberg took a shot at those who doubt his metaverse investment. "People are going to look back decades from now" and discuss the project's importance, he said. Meta has reported nearly $20 billion in losses since last year from to its metaverse project, more than the GDP of many countries. I think people are going to look back on decades from now and talk about the importance of the work that was done here," he added. So far, Meta's metaverse investment, which it calls 'Reality Labs,' has reported losses greater than the GDP of many small countries.

☆ Meta plans to lose even more money building the metaverse while its ads business shrinks
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., demonstrates the Meta Quest Pro during the virtual Meta Connect event in New York, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reiterated his commitment to spending billions of dollars developing the metaverse amid investor concern about the health of his company's online advertising business. Meta's Reality Labs unit, which responsible for developing the virtual reality and related augmented reality technology that underpins the yet-to-be built metaverse, has lost $9.4 billion so far in 2022. "We do anticipate that Reality Labs operating losses in 2023 will grow significantly year-over-year," Meta said in a statement. "Beyond 2023, we expect to pace Reality Labs investments such that we can achieve our goal of growing overall company operating income in the long run."

☆ Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg just raised a giant middle finger to Wall Street. The company says its metaverse business will lose even more money next year.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Facebook warned that its Reality Labs metaverse business will lose even more money in 2023. It lost $10 billion over the whole of 2021, and the company said spending costs for Reality Labs are only going to keep growing. "We do anticipate that Reality Labs losses in 2023 will grow significantly year-over-year," the company said. He specifically asked Facebook to limit metaverse spending to $5 billion a year. A main part of the immersive digital world Mark Zuckerberg is attempting to build out is avatars.

☆ Mark Zuckerberg vows to spend billions more on the metaverse next year despite burning a whopping $4 billion on it this quarter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Meta currently faces a number of headwinds, including a potential recession and a slowdown in the advertising market. The decision comes just days after a prominent tech investor wrote an open letter urging Mark Zuckerberg to curb spending. Meta's Reality Labs unit, which is central to the company's metaverse effort, saw revenue fall 49% to $285 million. Meta's increase in spending also goes against the wishes of at least one of its prominent investors. Brad Gerstner, an investor at Altimeter Capital, wrote an open letter to the company earlier this week urging Mark Zuckerberg to cut the company's expenses.

☆ 3 things not to do when pitching your startup to a VC, according to a partner at a $750 million crypto venture firm
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Marc Weinstein, a partner at VC firm Mechanism Capital, has cut 100 checks as an angel investor. The crypto venture firm grew from $500,000 to a peak AUM of $750 million in two years. But venture firms like Mechanism Capital say there are still tons of deals to be made. Founders who are 'catching the latest fad'The Mechanism Capital partner is focused on the team's backgrounds and what they've accomplished in the past. The firm, Weinstein included, looks for a certain level of consistency in their potential portfolio companies.

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