Meta Platforms suffered the largest one-day loss of market value in history in February 2022.
On February 3, 2022, Meta Platforms lost roughly $232 billion in market capitalization in a single trading session after its earnings report and outlook disappointed investors. The fall followed weaker-than-expected user growth, increased competition, and concerns about advertising conditions.
At the time, Meta was still known widely by its former corporate name, Facebook. The company changed its name to Meta Platforms in October 2021 to emphasize its plans for the metaverse, while Facebook remained the name of its social-networking product.
The episode illustrates why market capitalization can fall much faster than a company’s physical assets change. A sharp movement in the share price affects the value assigned to every outstanding share, producing an enormous paper loss.