Will Mark Zuckerberg Become The Wealthiest Person In The World It's gone 12 months or so since Meta Platforms shareholders reached their breaking point in Q4'22 as the Tech giant's financial results in those times were following an increasingly questionable rebrand, from Facebook into Meta.
In October, 2022 Altimeter Capital Chairman and CEO Brad Gerstner said in an open letter to the Company that Meta has too many employees and is moving too slowly to maintain investor confidence.
A Meta shareholder wrote an open letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, saying he's basically "not happy". The investor criticized the brand's $100 billion-plus Metaverse experiment, saying such wild investments "into an unknown future are disproportionate and appalling even by Silicon Valley standards."
Investor recommended a plan to bring a "Mojo" back to the company.
👉 It included cutting personnel costs by 20% and limiting the company's costly investment in Metaverse technology to no more than $5 billion a year.
👉 Further, Meta must restore the trust of investors, employees and the tech community to attract, inspire and retain the best people in the world, - Gerstner wrote in the letter.
👉 In short, Meta needs to get fit and focused.
The letter was the latest sign that Meta investors were beginning to significantly express doubts about the company's financial results. Meta shares were down more than 61% in 2022.
Meta changed its company name to better focus on virtual reality hardware and software, and is spending $10 billion a year on the technology.
“However, people were confused about what the Metaverse even means,” Gerstner wrote.
"If the company had invested $1-2 billion a year in this project, this confusion might not even be an issue."
Ultimately, Gerstner says, Meta has too many people and spends too much on capital expenditures. If Meta could control those costs, it could double its free cash flow and improve its share price, he said.
He said a 20 percent cut in employee costs would return Meta to the level of staffing it had last year, and said the company can't spend money like before because the cost of capital and interest rates have risen recently.
“We believe the recommendations outlined above will result in a leaner, more productive and more focused company — a company that regains its confidence and momentum,” Gerstner resulted his letter.
I have to say also, there were a lot of important questions to Meta activity abroad the United States, in addition to the dismal financial performance in 2022. Saying this, I mean that the activities of Meta Platforms Inc, including Facebook and Instagram products, were recognized as extremist and were banned in the Russian Federation under the local court decision, and Meta stocks were uncompromisingly delisted from both Russian trading boards, well known as Moscow Stock Exchange MOEX:MOEX and Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange MOEX:SPBE .
In conclusion the rehabilitation path was the one and only - Meta Gotta Have a Mojo!
NOWADAYS
In nowadays Meta Platforms Inc. NASDAQ:META is the # 1 over the all S&P500 SP:SPX components with 205 percent yearly performance in this time, as Meta stocks were not simply gained, but tripled the price over the past 12 months.
Meta reported Q3'23 earnings after the closing bell October 25, 2023 that beat analysts' revenue and profit estimates.
The beat was driven by a continued rebound in Meta's advertising business following a sharp slowdown throughout 2022. Meta's guidance on its 2023 and 2024 expenses also hit the sweet spot for investors, as it signaled that it can balance its "year of efficiency" cost cutting efforts while it continues to invest in the Metaverse and Artificial intelligence (AI).
According to Forbes Real-Time Billionaire Index Mark Zuckerberg is the 6th richest person in the world today with its $120.0 wealth as of today while Tesla CEO Elon Musk is yet number one in the world with $241.1B wealth.
Key facts about Mark Zuckerberg
* Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook at Harvard in 2004 at the age of 19 for students to match names with photos of classmates.
* He took Facebook public in May 2012; he now owns about 13% of the company's stock, according to the company's 2023 proxy statement.
* Facebook changed its name to Meta Platforms in November 2021 in a sign it was shifting the company's focus to the metaverse.
* In December 2015, Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, pledged to give away 99% of their Meta stake over their lifetimes.
* Mark Zuckerberg born in White Plains, New York in 1984, and in this time 39-years old Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest one over the top 30 richest persons in the world.
In conclusion, Will Mark Zuckerberg become the wealthiest person in the world!?
Perhaps, Yes. He can.
The main technical graph undoubtedly says Meta Inc stocks NASDAQ:META are on the runway to triple the price once again.
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Dedicated to my beloved newborn son, Mark 💖