Meta’s business takes a dive as it pivots from old-school social networking – Fast Company
For years, even with concerns over privacy and content moderation lingering in the background, Meta has managed to grow its sales. But that stunning growth appears to be ending.
In a grim second quarter earnings report on Wednesday, the company formerly known as Facebook revealed it had missed on both the top and bottom lines for the quarter. It reported earnings per share of $2.46; analysts had expected $2.59. At the same time it posted revenue of $28.82 billion versus the $28.94 billion analysts expected.
Meta also delivered a sobering outlook for its next quarter, anticipating a further softening in the advertising market, from which the company draws almost all its revenues. Meta expects Q3 revenues of between $26 billion and $28.5 billiona notable drop from analyst expectations of $30.38 billion.
Wednesdays news underscored whats become increasingly clear over the last few months: Against the backdrop of a weakened economy that may be headed for a recession, Meta is facing an inflection point in its product and mission.
Investors have been long bracing for Metas advertising segment to weaken, due in large part to Apples iOS privacy update.In 2021 Apple began requiring apps, including Facebook and Instagram, to ask users permission before tracking their movements. Marketers have also been pulling some ad spend as they prepare for consumers to respond to economic concerns.
Facebooks awful quarter and weak outlook further underline the view that advertisers have been cutting back on spending as the overall economy battles with inflation, higher interest rates, and shifting consumer patterns, said Jesse Cohen, senior analyst at Investing.com in an email.
Notably, Meta posted its first-ever year-over-year quarterly revenue decline since its 2012 market debut. Revenues were down 1% from the same quarter in 2021.
Meta shares, however, dipped only a few percentage points in after-hours trading.
(Wednesdays after-hours share prices offered at least a sliver of good news, given that Meta shares plunged 22% in extended trading earlier this year after the company reported its first-ever dip in user numbers.)
Facebook and Instagram ads have historically been popular with marketers due to Metas ability to target users. But the companys ad unit has become less effective due to the privacy changes and that appears to be bringing down the cost.
In the second quarter of 2022, ad impressions delivered across our Family of Apps increased by 15% year-over-year and the average price per ad decreased by 14% year-over-year, the earnings report states.
Its not just Meta thats struggled this season. Companies that rely on ad spend, like Snap and Twitter, have reported weak ad dollars, citing a decrease in marketer spending due to economic uncertainty and Apples changes.
The poor earnings results come in the wake of Metas announcement that it plans to insert more TikTok-like short-form videos into the feeds of users. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg went on the defensive very early on in the call with analysts:
I want to be clear that we are still ultimately a social company, Zuckerberg said during a call with analysts. Zuckerberg said Meta hopes that suggesting more content from people users dont know (such as short-form video) will inspire more engagement among friends and family, and, in turn, more video viewing. He said a flywheel effect would develop.
Read the original post:
Meta's business takes a dive as it pivots from old-school social networking - Fast Company
- Heineken Turns Anti-Social - Media, That Is 04/29/2025 - MediaPost - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Heineken taps Joe Jonas to ditch social media and pour into real connections - Marketing-Interactive - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Europeans are leaving the social network Mask X en masse - Mezha.Media - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Elon Musks X social network lost 10% of its users from Europe in six months. Reasons - - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Heineken campaign imagines an influencer crisis in a world without social media followers - Campaign Brief - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Joe Jonas and Dude With Sign Team Up to Celebrate Life Off Social Media - That Eric Alper - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Joe Jonas and Heineken bring in a social media apocalypse in new ad - afaqs! - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Divisive forces spreading hate on social media must be identified, dealt with firmly: Mehbooba Mufti - asianewsnetwork.net - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Socontra: social network for AI agent-to-agent interaction set to automate online shopping - Eagle-Tribune - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Survey: More than four in 10 teens say social media harms their sleep - The Star - May 2nd, 2025 [May 2nd, 2025]
- Mark Zuckerberg Says Social Media Is Over - The New Yorker - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are 'grateful' that Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are too young for social media - Business Insider - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Morgan Stanley believed Google would rival Facebook if the search giant could beat Mark Zuckerberg to scooping up WhatsApp - Fortune - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Australian leaders vow to stand firm on social media age limits as election nears - Reuters - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- My Company Competed Against Facebook. Here's What Happened | Opinion - Newsweek - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Layboard Launches Innovative Social Network for Job Searching and Career Growth - Reuters - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Abrego Garcia family flees to safe house after Trump DHS posts home address on social media - The Real News Network - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Opinion: Morning routines are a myth and serve as social media gimmicks - lsureveille.com - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Gen Zs Underground Social Network Just Went National And Its Blowing Up - Forbes - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Fans React to Jameson Williams Not Following Lions on Social Media - Sports Illustrated - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- OpenAI may be creating a new social media platform with AI-generated images - Tech Edition - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- B3 partner with Reach Labs to launch user acquisition platform and GameChain - VentureBeat - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- OpenAIs Reportedly Exploring Its Own AI-Based Social Network - Social Media Today - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI launches its Social Network: the new frontier of the data war - The Cryptonomist - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI is reportedly developing its own X-like social media platform - TechCrunch - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- What Meta stands to lose if the FTC wins - Quartz - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Instagram and Facebook are hardly social media apps anymore. Here's the proof. - Business Insider - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- FTC Antitrust Case Against Meta Heads to Trial This Week - Social Media Today - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI might be building its own social network, and we really hope they don't - TechRadar - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI Takes On Elon Musk By Creating Its Own Social Network! - Cointribune - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI is building its own social network to rival Elon Musk's X - Crypto Briefing - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI reportedly creating its own social network to take on X - Tom's Guide - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Behind the landmark trial that could reshape Metas future with Instagram - Los Angeles Times - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI is quietly working on a social network similar to Twitter, powered by ChatGPT - TechSpot - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI Reportedly Developing Social Media Platform Amid Ongoing Feud Between Musk, Altman - BW Businessworld - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI braced to challenge Elon Musks X with new social network - The Times - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Meta faces antitrust claims at trial over Instagram and WhatsApp ownership - The Guardian - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Like Musk, but with ChatGPT: OpenAI is working on its own social network similar to X - ITC.ua - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI may be turning ChatGPT into a social media platform - Android Authority - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Creative ChatGPT They are planning their own social network and it will be quite unique! LSA Magazine - Letem svtem Applem - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- OpenAI is working on X-like social media network, the Verge reports - MarketScreener - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Will Meta be forced to sell Instagram and WhatsApp in FTC trial? - Bizcommunity - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- Body talk on social networking sites and appearance anxiety among college students: the mediating role of self-objectification and moderating role of... - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- I Tried Seven39, the Social Network That's Only Open Three Hours a Day - Lifehacker - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Mapping ISKPs Strength: Social Network Analysis of Tech-Driven Jihad - Global Network on Extremism and Technology - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- ION and HyperGPT Unite to Power AI-Driven Web3 Social Networks - CoinTrust - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- College Student Shares Why She Deleted All Socials and What Life Is Like Without It - The Flagler College Gargoyle - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- CRD is shutting down its X account, saying platform 'rife with misinformation' - Times Colonist - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Social Network: Is the mental health of teenagers in danger? - evidencenetwork.ca - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Leo, Daily Horoscope Today, April 10, 2025: Business owners will find success through social networking - Times of India - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Daily time spent on social networking by internet users - the-star.co.ke - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Young people and the pressure to be perfect like on social media - baohaiduong.vn - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- CSC urged to recall memo on social media use of gov't personnel - GMA Network - April 10th, 2025 [April 10th, 2025]
- Woman charged for hit-and-run death allegedly posted about victim on social media after the crash - KBTX News 3 - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- LinkedIn reveals best places to work - 9Now - April 8th, 2025 [April 8th, 2025]
- Chamber showcase fills Union Station with real-life social networking for small biz owners - Startland News - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Beyond Bluesky: These are the apps building social experiences on the AT Protocol - TechCrunch - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Modeling the amplification of epidemic spread by individuals exposed to misinformation on social media - Nature - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Gen Z is flocking to the one social media platform millennials didn't ruin - Business Insider - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Whistlr Network: The Real-Time, Unfiltered Social Media, That - openPR.com - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- EU may make an example of X by issuing $1 billion fine to Musks social network - Ars Technica - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Mark Zuckerberg Apparently Bought Jesse Eisenberg's "The Social Network" T-Shirt, And I'm A Little Weirded Out - BuzzFeed - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Is X Going To Pay The Price? Europe Is Preparing Historic Sanctions Against Elon Musk. - Cointribune - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Truth Social owner Trump Media becomes first company listed on NYSE Texas handing early win to exchange - New York Post - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Mark Zuckerberg wears iconic t-shirt from The Social Network, reveals he got it in auction - Mint - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Immigration officials look to collect social media handles from those seeking benefits. Is this new? - The Tribune-Democrat - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Cryptocurrency and Extremism: How Social Network Analysis is Used to Track Extremist Cryptocurrency Donations - GNET - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- New bill would require warning labels on social media platforms - KSTP - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Japan Grapples with Risks of Social Media in Pursuing Options for Protecting Children Online - Nippon.com - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Gabe Newell had his eyes on a social network in the '90s that 'was not in a games context at all'meaning Valve-owned social media could've been a very... - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Tired of traditional social media? Here are 4 reasons why Substack is my go-to social media app - ZDNet - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Skip the post-trip laundry stress with the new features of Wingle, a free in-flight networking app for travellers - indulgexpress - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Social media's impact: Driving business strategies from marketing to ROI - ZAWYA - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- What Is Meta AI? Everything You Should Know About the Social Network Giant's AI Tools - CNET - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- The art and science of going viral in 2025 - Computerworld - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Agility in Marketing Teams: An Analysis of Factors Influencing the Entry Decision Into a Trendy Social Network | Newswise - Newswise - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- The Rise and Fall of Terrorgram: Inside a Global Online Hate Network - ProPublica - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Why TikTok Should Be OnChain - CoinDesk - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- China: Officials aim to restrict social media and screen time, youth left in divide - The Hawk - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Florida teen killed after being lured on social media to meet man, police say - USA TODAY - March 9th, 2025 [March 9th, 2025]