Meta Platforms (META) can’t catch a break.
In after-hours, the stock is down about 20% or $25.52 a share on poor earnings.
EPS came in at $1.64, as compared to expectations for $1.89. Revenue came in at $27.71 billion, as compared to estimates of $27.38 billion.
The company also forecast Q4 revenue of $30 billion to $32.5 billion, as compared to analyst expectations for $32.2 billion. Company costs and expenses were up 19% year over year to $22.1 billion. Operating income fell 46% to $5.66 billion. Operating margins fell to 20% from 36% year over year. And net income fell 52% to $4.4 billion.
“While we face near-term challenges on revenue, the fundamentals are there for a return to stronger revenue growth,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said. “We’re approaching 2023 with a focus on prioritization and efficiency that will help us navigate the current environment and emerge an even stronger company.”
While META has gone off the rails, Altimer Capital CEO Brad Gerstner says there is a way for it to find its way back. “Meta has drifted into the land of excess—too many people, too many ideas, too little urgency,” Gerstner said, as quoted by Barron’s. “This lack of focus and fitness is obscured when growth is easy but deadly when growth slows and technology changes.”
He suggests reducing staff by up to 20% by the start of 2023, cutting annual capital spending to around $5 billion, and dropping its investment in the metaverse to about $5 billion. That, he added, could double free cash flow and get the company back on track.
Right now, META is just a slow-motion train wreck.
On Thursday morning, we would be shocked to see META under $100 a share. The last time it got that cheap was at the start of 2016.
