Meta, formerly Facebook, faces historic drop as stock tanks

By BARBARA ORTUTAY
AP Technology Writer

Meta is putting a lot of virtual eggs — and billions of dollars — into the metaverse basket, and Wall Street is spooked. Shares of the company formerly known as Facebook saw a historic plunge Thursday after it reported a rare profit decline due to a sharp rise in expenses, shaky ad revenue growth and fewer daily U.S. users on its flagship platform. At the same time, it invested more than $10 billion in its ambitious plan to transform Meta Platforms Inc. into a “metaverse company.” Shares fell more than 26%, lopping off more than $230 billion of the company’s market capitalization