Wedbush Securities: from US$ 671 to US$ 595
Evercore ISI: cut of US$ 110
The worst day for Meta this year: what happened to Mark Zuckerberg's fortune
Zuckerberg lost $18 billion in one day after Meta's collapse due to its spending on AI
Wedbush Securities: from US$ 671 to US$ 595
Evercore ISI: cut of US$ 110
The shares of Meta plummeted by 9%, marking the company's worst day of the year. The drop wiped out US$ 17.8 billion from Mark Zuckerberg's net worth, after Wall Street punished the company's significant increase in spending on artificial intelligence.
The decline extended Meta's negative streak to 11 consecutive trading sessions, with a cumulative loss of 21.7% during that period. The market began to demand concrete results and greater predictability in the use of capital allocated to artificial intelligence.
The core of the concern was in Meta's new annual spending forecast, which the company raised to US$ 137.5 billion without committing to a figure for 2027. This lack of reference generated worry among analysts about a possible escalation of investments without a clear path to profitability.
The quarterly numbers also did not suffice to calm the market's reaction. The company reported earnings of US$ 6.18 per share, below the US$ 7.18 expected by the consensus surveyed by FactSet, although revenues exceeded projections, reaching US$ 60.8 billion.
The stock market drop left Mark Zuckerberg with an estimated net worth of US$ 183.3 billion, making him the sixth richest person in the world. He is ahead of Nvidia founder Jensen Huang, with US$ 167.2 billion, and behind Michael Dell, whose fortune reached US$ 228.9 billion.
Several Wall Street firms lowered their estimates for Meta shares:
Scotiabank (Nat Schindler): from US$ 700 to US$ 600
Wolfe Research: cut of US$ 100
Goldman Sachs and Cantor Fitzgerald: cut of US$ 90 each
Schindler stated that Meta must first prove that artificial intelligence can generate revenue while ensuring the sustainability of free cash flow.
The punishment of Meta was amplified by the contrast with Microsoft, whose shares rose 15% after reporting over 30 million paid users for Microsoft 365 Copilot, compared to the 20 million announced in April.
Microsoft maintained its spending targets and left open the possibility of an expansion for fiscal year 2027, with projected quarterly revenues of US$ 90 billion, above the US$ 87.6 billion expected. According to Tracy Woo, an analyst at Forrester, these figures showed that Microsoft's investment in data centers began to pay off.
Meta has lost nearly 18% this year amid court rulings and doubts about its artificial intelligence strategy. A previous rebound, exceeding 14%, coincided with the launch of Muse Image, which was questioned by unions, talent agencies, and cybersecurity firms over privacy issues.