Facebook is in a world of hurt as parent company Meta shares plunge on weak quarterly earnings

Barbara Ortutay  |  Associated PressFacebook parent Meta on Wednesday reported that its revenue declined for a second consecutive quarter, hurt by falling advertising sales as it faces competition from TikTok’s wildly popular video app.The quarter’s weak results raised fresh questions about whether Meta’s plans to spend $10 billion a year on the metaverse – a concept that doesn’t quite exist yet and possibly never will – is prudent while its main source of revenue is faltering.The quarterly results from Meta Platforms Inc. sent its stock tumbling 19% in after-hours trading to $105.20. If the sell-off holds through Thursday’s regular trading day, it will be the lowest it’s been since 2016. The stock closed Wednesday down 61% for the year.Meta’s disappointing results followed weak earnings reports from Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft this week. The Menlo Park, California, company earned $4.4 billion, or $1.64 per share, in the three month period that ended Sept. 30. That’s down 52% from, $9.19 billion, or $3.22 per share, in the same period a year earlier.Analysts were expecting a profit of $1.90 per share, on average, according to FactSet.Revenue fell 4% to $27.71 billion from $29.01 billion, slightly higher than the $27.4 billion that analysts had predicted.Some of the company’s…
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