Meta Faces 'Death Spiral' Claims Amid AI Pivot and First-Ever User Decline
Angwin says Meta’s first reported user drop and rising feed complaints show years of heavy spending have not stopped the company’s decline.
- On Wednesday, Meta reported its first quarterly decline in "Family daily active people" in seven years, with total users falling by 20 million to 3.56 billion during Q1 2026.
- Zuckerberg attributed the slip to internet disruptions in Iran and a WhatsApp restriction in Russia, though analysts expressed skepticism regarding the company's bundled user metrics.
- Despite the user decline, Meta generated $56.31 billion in advertising revenue, a 33% increase year-over-year, while Reality Labs reported an operating loss of $4.03 billion for the quarter.
- Meta's stock price fell by more than 7 percent following the earnings release as the company announced plans to prioritize "original content" on Instagram and Facebook.
- The company increased projected capital expenditures for 2026 to $125-145 billion, $10 billion more than previous estimates, as Meta plans to pump billions into artificial intelligence investments this year.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Meta Has Entered Its Death Spiral
It’s hard to even imagine now, but immediately after it launched in 2004, there was nothing on the internet cooler than Facebook. It was initially available only to Harvard students, then gradually expanded to students at other elite colleges, giving it an aura of exclusivity that founder Mark Zuckerberg clearly coveted. By the time it opened up to public accounts in 2006, the hype was palpable, paving the way to an explosive initial public offe…
Meta Is Spending Up to $145 Billion on AI Infrastructure. This Supplier Trades at a Tenth of Meta’s Multiple
The post Meta Is Spending Up to $145 Billion on AI Infrastructure. This Supplier Trades at a Tenth of Meta’s Multiple appeared first on 24/7 Wall St.. Quick Read Meta Platforms (META) beat EPS by 56.79%, but $3.13 per share came from an IRS tax gift—strip it out and the story unravels completely. Super Micro Computer (SMCI) trades at 0.60 price-to-sales versus Meta’s 7.21, while capturing the actual cash from Meta’s $125-145B capex buildout. …
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