Meta Platforms slides as firm's checks say current quarter slowing worse than Q1
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Netflix's 35% post-earnings dive has the market's attention today, but the S&P 500's third-biggest decliner is Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB), down 7.2% and seemingly caught up in a long-term downtrend.
Meta stock is down more than 37% since its early-February "faceplant" from fourth-quarter earnings. (See a price return chart vs. the market here.)
On Wednesday, chatter around the company came in reaction to a negative note from Cleveland Research, whose checks indicate that current-quarter business has tanked.
The firm has apparently cut its estimates well below street consensus, based on a slowdown in everything from its e-commerce efforts to a breakdown in its targeting to share loss to rivals.
The first quarter looks weak, and April's to-date business is slowing even more than that, the firm notes. Advertiser return on investment is weaker from inflation in CPM rates, a drop in conversion rates, and targeting changes - and nearly half of agencies are set to miss their ROI goal, Cleveland says.
Meanwhile, adoption of Reels (Meta's short-video rival to fast-charging TikTok (BDNCE)) has been low so far, though performance feedback leans to the positive, and the second half should be boosted by more investment.
Meta is expected to post normalized earnings per share of $2.51 (which would mark a 24% year-over-year decline) on revenues of $28.29 billion (year-over-year growth of just 8.1%, and a 16% drop from the prior quarter).