Meta Platforms became the first company to lose $500 billion in market value in a single year, in 2022.
Meta’s market capitalization fell sharply during 2022 as its share price declined and investors reacted to slowing growth, privacy-related advertising changes, competition from TikTok, and heavy spending on the company’s metaverse strategy.
The company was known as Facebook until it changed its corporate name to Meta Platforms in October 2021. Its principal services include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, while Reality Labs develops virtual- and augmented-reality products.
A loss of market value is calculated from the change in share price multiplied by shares outstanding. It does not mean that the company paid out or physically destroyed that amount of money. Meta remained one of the world’s largest advertising and social-media businesses despite the steep decline.