Facebook parent Meta posts lower Q4 profit, shares plunge

By BARBARA ORTUTAY
AP Technology Writer

Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, saw its stock plunge after-hours Wednesday after reporting a rare decline in its fourth quarter profit due to a sharp increase in expenses. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company said it earned $10.29 billion, or $3.67 per share, in the final three months of 2021. That’s down 8% from $11.22 billion, or $3.88 per share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose to 20% to $33.67 billion. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $3.85 per share on revenue of $33.36 billion, according to a poll by FactSet.