Meta’s valuation plunges $200bn amid surging competition

Facebook owner and tech giant Meta’s market valuation plunged $200 billion as investors cooled on its prospects in the light of fierce competition and popularity of rivals including video-focused social networking service Tik Tok.

The firm’s shares dropped as much as 20 percent on Wednesday, the Financial Times reported.

“People have a lot of choices for how they want to spend their time, and apps like TikTok are growing very quickly,” Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive, said.

The growing competition places Meta’s advertising budget under great pressure, according to the Financial Times.

This comes in addition to inflation and supply chain concerns which could also negatively affect the firm’s advertising business.

Meta expects revenues between $27 billion and $29 billion in the first quarter of 2022, representing a 3 to 11 percent year-on-year growth.

This is below the $30.3 billion anticipated revenue forecast by capital market firm S&P Capital IQ.