MARKET CAP
Facebook rout dwarfs Cyril Ramaphosa's investment drive
The eye-watering decline in the social media giant's market cap left CEO Mark Zuckerberg almost $16bn poorer
President Cyril Ramaphosa thinks he needs up to five years to accumulate $100bn (about R1.3-trillion) in investments. Facebook lost that amount and more in a matter of hours after the social media behemoth said its growth was slowing. Facebook’s shares were trading at a high on Wednesday, but collapsed as much as 24% in after-hours trade after the company said second-quarter earnings missed expectations and investors should temper their growth forecasts. The stock pared its losses a little, to close 19% weaker in regular trading on Thursday, wiping $120bn off its market cap in the end. That is roughly the equivalent of a General Electric or a 3M, and is the biggest one-day decline in market cap in American history. The drubbing left CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg $15.9bn poorer, with a personal fortune of about $71bn. Prompted by a downbeat earnings call with investors, the Nasdaq-listed company’s market value plummeted by about $151bn at one point on Wednesday — roughly half of SA...
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