Goodbye Metaverse, Hello AGI — Meta Pivots (Again)
The pivot to A.I. is not for the benefit of everyone; it’s a stock-juicing manoeuvre
Last Monday, Meta’s shares hit a new all-time intraday high.
The Friday previous, the company enjoyed its first record-high close since 2021.
The shares are up over 160% YTD and over 300% since November 2022.
It’s been quite the turnaround. The company endured such a torrid 2022 — dropping revenues, whistleblowers, leaked data showing the company knew Instagram negatively affects the mental health of teenagers, the Capital Hill investigation, Apple’s ad-tracking changes, and the disastrous Metaverse venture — that it wiped out the entirety of its pandemic gains. The stock price sank to its lowest since January 2019, when Facebook was dealing with the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica crisis. The stock price even flirted with dropping below $100; it hadn’t been that low since late 2015.
It was bad. It had some people (me included) questioning the company’s future under Zuckerberg’s leadership. But since then, it’s been up, up, and away.
