Zuck Misses Big: Facebook Reports First Ever Drop in Revenue

Facebook has reported its first-ever revenue miss and continued poor earnings, with forecasts expecting a second straight quarter of declining sales. The social media Masters of the Universe missed analysts’ estimates for both revenue and earnings.

CNBC reports that Facebook (now known as Meta) recently reported a worse-than-expected drop in revenue, missed on earnings, and gave a weak forecast for the future. Further poor performance could see a second consecutive decline in year-over-year sales. Facebook shares fell by 5.65 percent in intraday trading on Thursday.

(Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

CNBC reported the following figures for the company:

Earnings: $2.46 per share vs. $2.59 per share expected, according to Refinitiv
Revenue: $28.82 billion vs. $28.94 billion expected, according to Refinitiv
Daily Active Users (DAUs): 1.97 billion vs 1.96 billion expected, according to StreetAccount
Monthly Active Users (MAUs): 2.93 vs 2.94 billion expected, according to StreetAccount
Average Revenue per User (ARPU): $9.82 vs. $9.83 expected, according to StreetAccount

Facebook shares have lost approximately half their value since the beginning of 2022, adding to concerns from investors about the company’s online advertising business which has been largely affected by Apple’s iOS private update last year. The update limited Facebook’s ability to track users and the continued weakening economy has led some companies to cut their advertising budgets.

Facebook’s revenue in the second quarter fell almost one percent from a year earlier. The company issued a disappointing third-quarter forecast, citing a “continuation of the weak advertising demand environment we experienced throughout the second quarter, which we believe is being driven by broader macroeconomic uncertainty.”

On a call with analysts, CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated: “This is a period that demands more intensity and I expect us to get more done with fewer resources.” Revenue in the second quarter fell between $26 billion and $28.5 billion, behind the projected $30.5 billion average that analysts expected.