Business
Zuckerberg loses $15bn in one day as Facebook stock crashes by 20%
The effect of data privacy controversy on Facebook seems not to have ceased as the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mark Zuckerberg, on Thursday recorded over $15 billion loss in wealth.
The plunge in value was occasioned by the bearish performance of the social media giant on the United States stock market, recording its worst day of decline as a listed company. This is coming a day after executives forecast years of lower profit margins for the company.
Facebook, which closed on Wednesday at $217.50 after shedding 9 percent of its share price, fell by about 20 percent to as low as $173.75 on Thursday before closing the session at $176.26, a decline that if sustained would wipe about $124bn off the company’s value – or nearly four times the entire market capitalisation of Twitter Inc.
Read also: China withdraws approval for Facebook’s new venture
At least 16 brokerages cut their price targets on Facebook after Chief Financial Officer, David Wehner, startled an otherwise routine call with analysts by saying the company faced a multi-year squeeze on its business margins, Reuters reported.
That “bombshell”, as one analyst termed it, played into concerns on Wall Street that Facebook’s model could be under threat after a year that has been dominated by efforts to head off concerns over privacy and its role in global news flow.
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