Shares in Meta – the owner of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram – fell sharply after it announced higher than expected spending on artificial intelligence (AI).
They went down more than 15% in after-hours trading in New York despite the tech giant revealing strong earnings figures.
Boss Mark Zuckerberg said it would take some time before its huge AI investment increased revenues.
Meta also said its X rival, Threads, now has more than 150 million monthly active users, increasing the pressure on the Elon Musk-owned platform.
“Threads is well on its way to beating X by becoming the Twitter alternative users and advertisers are longing for,” said Mike Proulx, from analysts Forrester.
He also said Meta stood to gain from TikTok’s possible sale or ban in the US – a development the app has vowed to fight.
AI features
Meta has been updating its ad-buying products with AI tools to boost earnings growth.
It has also been introducing more AI features on its social media platforms such as chat assistants.
The firm said it now expected to spend between $35bn and $40bn, (£28bn-32bn) in 2024, up from an earlier prediction of $30-$37bn.
For investors, that outweighed the positive news on earnings.
First quarter revenue rose 27% to $36.46bn, while analysts had expected earnings of $36.16bn.
Analysts though said there was a logic to Meta’s approach.
Sophie Lund-Yates, from Hargreaves Lansdown, said Meta’s “substantial investment” in AI has helped it get people to spend time on its platforms, so advertisers were willing to spend more money “in a time when digital advertising uncertainty remains rife”.
More than 50 countries are due to have elections this year, she said, “which hugely increases uncertainty” and can spook advertisers.
Ms Lund-Yates said that “looking further ahead, the biggest risk [for Meta] remains regulatory”.
Last year, Meta was fined €1.2bn (£1bn) by Ireland’s data authorities for mishandling people’s data when transferring it between Europe and the US.
And in February of this year, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg faced blistering criticism from US lawmakers and was pushed to apologise to families of victims of child sexual exploitation.
Ms Lund-Yates added that the firm has “more than enough resources to throw at legal challenges, but that doesn’t rule out the risks of ups and downs in market sentiment”.
10 comments
Модные заметки по выбору необычных видов на любой день.
Обзоры стилистов, новости, все новые коллекции и шоу.
https://omskdaily.ru/news/2024-09-15-kak-otlichit-originalnuyu-veshch-balmain-ot-poddelki-klyuchevye-priznaki-i-sovety/
Hello there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it is really informative. I’m going to watch out for brussels. I’ll be grateful if you continue this in future. Many people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
Hello. impressive job. I did not expect this. This is a fantastic story. Thanks!
I am often to blogging and i actually admire your content. The article has really peaks my interest. I’m going to bookmark your website and keep checking for new information.
I really like your writing style, excellent information, thankyou for putting up : D.
На этом сайте вы найдете центр психологического здоровья, которая предоставляет психологические услуги для людей, страдающих от депрессии и других ментальных расстройств. Эта индивидуальный подход для восстановления ментального здоровья. Врачи нашего центра готовы помочь вам справиться с психологические барьеры и вернуться к психологическому благополучию. Профессионализм наших психологов подтверждена множеством положительных отзывов. Запишитесь с нами уже сегодня, чтобы начать путь к восстановлению.
http://liljuneafropunta.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=empathycenter.ru%2Fpreparations%2Fl%2Flamotridzhin%2F
На данном ресурсе можно найти актуальные международные политические новости. Частые обновления помогают оставаться в курсе главных новостей. Вы узнаете о решениях мировых лидеров. Подробные обзоры помогают оценить происходящее. Будьте в центре событий на этом сайте.
https://justdoitnow03042025.com
Fantastic website. Lots of useful info here. I’m sending it to several friends ans additionally sharing in delicious. And certainly, thanks to your sweat!
There are certainly a whole lot of details like that to take into consideration. That is a nice level to convey up. I offer the thoughts above as basic inspiration but clearly there are questions just like the one you deliver up where the most important factor will likely be working in sincere good faith. I don?t know if finest practices have emerged round things like that, but I am sure that your job is clearly recognized as a good game. Both boys and girls really feel the influence of just a second’s pleasure, for the rest of their lives.
Very superb info can be found on web blog. “Politics is applesauce.” by Will Rogers.