Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth plunged by $18 billion on Thursday following the CEO’s comments on Meta
‘s earnings release, and the stock price fell by the most since October 2022.
Meta’s sales and profits both exceeded expectations, but sales fell short of forecasts. Mr. Zuckerberg told investors that Meta, which derives 98% of its revenue from advertising, will continue to invest billions of dollars in areas such as artificial intelligence and the Metaverse.
“We’ve historically seen a lot of volatility in our stock during this phase of our product playbook where we’re investing in scaling a new product but aren’t yet monetizing it,” Zuckerberg said on the call.
Zuckerberg owns approximately 345 million Class A and Class B shares. The stock price fell $52.12 on Thursday, reducing the value of his stake by about $18 billion to $152 billion by the close of trading.
The 39-year-old programmer founded the company in his Harvard dorm room in 2004, changing its name from Facebook to Meta in 2021 and telling investors he plans to focus on the non-existent Metaverse.
Meta’s Reality Labs division, which houses the hardware and software for Metaverse development, has posted cumulative losses of $45 billion since 2020, when the company first financially separated the division.
Meta said this year’s investment amount is up from his previous forecast of $35 billion to he expects to be $40 billion.
Mr. Zuckerberg’s fortune has fluctuated up and down over the years, as his company’s stock price has been particularly volatile. His net worth decreased by about $100 billion in 2022. In early 2023, he announced that Meta would begin a “year of efficiency,” which tripled the stock price that year, and Zuckerberg’s net worth increased accordingly.
Thursday wasn’t the worst day for Zuckerberg’s bank account. In early 2022, he lost nearly $30 billion in a single day as his company’s stock price plummeted 26% due to poor earnings and disappointing forecasts.
