FREE FALL: Meta stock plummets, CEO Zuckerberg sees net worth sink
, falling 52% year over year. Earnings per share for the quarter came in at $1.64, below analyst estimates of $1.89. The company generated $27.71 billion in third-quarter revenue, a 4% drop from the same period last year, but above the $27.38 billion estimated by analysts.
Meta's Reality Labs division, which is key to the company's metaverse ambitions, lost $3.7 billion in the third quarter and reported revenue of $285 million. During the company's earnings call, Zuckerberg warned that the company was planning its budget "somewhat more conservatively" as it was "not clear the economy has stabilized yet." The company employed 87,300 people at the end of September, which it said was a year-over-year jump of 28%.