Facebook sees $37 billion in market value erased after 3rd quarter earnings reveal decline in US users
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- Facebook shares tumbled 6% during Friday intraday trading after the tech giant's earnings revealed a decline in US users.
- The stock decline resulted in nearly $37 billion being erased from Facebook's market value.
- Facebook reported better-than-expected earnings per share, revenue, global daily active users, and global monthly active users for the third quarter.
Facebook shares dropped roughly 6% on Friday morning after reporting a decline in US users during the third quarter. The intraday drop erased $37 billion in market capitalization for the tech giant.
Facebook reported $21.5 billion in revenue for the third quarter, beating the Street's $19.8 billion forecast. It also said during the Thursday earnings call that its global daily active user base grew to 1.82 billion, versus the 1.78 billion expected by the Street. Global monthly active users were 2.74 billion, higher than the expected 2.70 billion. Facebook's $2.71 earnings per share beat the consensus estimate of $1.91 per share.
However, Facebook reported a decline in daily active users for the US and Canada, down 196 million from 198 million in the second quarter.
In a press release, Facebook Chief Investment Officer Dave Wehner said the decrease came after a large spike in users at the height of the coronavirus lockdowns in the second quarter. Wehner said Facebook expects this "trend to continue" into the fourth quarter, with daily and monthly active users "flat or slightly down compared to the third quarter of 2020."
CEO Mark Zuckerberg also discussed the prospect of increased regulation in the tech industry, which may be a headwind in the coming months depending on the outcome of the November 3 election.
Shares of Facebook are up roughly 28% year-to-date.