Facebook Takes A Beating As Apple Changes Privacy Setting

Shares in Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms were down by more than 24% on Thursday morning after the company reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and a tepid outlook.

Photo Insert: Facebook was hit by Apple's privacy setting change, which requires apps to obtain users' permission before tracking their data.

The first-quarter revenue outlook came in below Wall Street expectations. For the first quarter, the company expects revenue to grow 3%-11% to between $27 billion and $29 billion.

Net income in the fourth quarter declined to $10.285 billion from $11.219 billion in the same quarter a year ago, hurt by higher expenses.

Revenue for the quarter, however, increased to $33.671 billion from $28.072 billion last year. Looking ahead to the first quarter, the company's CFO, David Wehner commented, "We expect our year-over-year growth in the first quarter to be impacted by headwinds to both impression and price growth."

The company was hit by Apple's privacy setting change, which requires apps to obtain users' permission before tracking their data. Facebook said this could impact ad revenue in 2022 by $10 billion.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic