Mark Zuckerberg Loses $25 Billion—Now World's Fifth-Richest As Meta Shares Plummet

Core Insights - Meta's shares dropped over 10%, resulting in a loss of approximately $25 billion from Mark Zuckerberg's net worth, marking the largest single-day loss for the company this year due to a significant tax charge impacting quarterly earnings [1][2] Financial Performance - Meta reported third-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $1.05, which is 84% below the expected $6.72, despite revenues of $51.2 billion exceeding estimates of $49.5 billion [2] - The EPS decline of 83% year-over-year was attributed to a one-time tax charge of $15.9 billion related to tax legislation [2] - Without the tax charge, Meta's EPS would have been $7.25 [3] Future Outlook - The company raised its capital expenditure guidance from $66 billion-$72 billion to $70 billion-$72 billion, as it prepares for advancements in superintelligence [3] - Meta's Reality Labs unit, which focuses on VR and AI products, reported an operating loss of $4.4 billion with sales of $470 million, slightly better than Wall Street's expectations [3] Market Position - Following the stock decline, Zuckerberg's net worth is estimated at $232.6 billion, ranking him as the fifth-richest person globally, behind Larry Ellison and Elon Musk [4] Industry Context - Despite the recent stock drop, Meta's shares are still up 10% for the year, reflecting ongoing investments in AI and cloud infrastructure [8] - Meta has invested $14.3 billion in AI startup Scale AI and secured a $10 billion cloud deal with Google, indicating a strong commitment to enhancing its AI capabilities [8]