Explained: The tumbling of Meta platforms’ shares

The story so far: The shares of Meta Platforms, the parent company of social media giant Facebook, crashed by as much as 25% on Thursday, wiping out over $200 billion from the company’s market value. THE GIST The shares of Meta Platforms crashed by as much as 25% on Thursday, wiping out over $200 billion from the company’s market value. This was triggered after Meta released its quarterly earnings statement last week informing investors that Facebook lost half a million active users during the fourth quarter. Meta’s quarterly earnings statement last week informed investors that Facebook lost half a million active users during the fourth quarter.