Facebook stock falls to yet another ignominious level

Meta shares dropped 2.2% Friday, closing the week down 13.5% after registering declines in all five sessions. Friday’s fall brought Meta shares to their lowest close since March 16, 2020, when they finished at $146.01, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Any close below that point would see Meta officially erase all of its pandemic-era stock gains.

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The swift decline in Meta shares in recent months reflects more than just macroeconomic fears. Yes, Meta is exposed to pullbacks in advertiser spending due to a weakening economy, but the company must also contend with TikTok’s rising competitive threat, as well as the lingering impacts of Apple Inc.’s AAPL, -1.10% privacy-related changes that affect ad targeting.

Meta is now the 10th most valuable U.S. company by market capitalization, after falling behind Visa Inc. V, -1.06% earlier this week. While Meta shares are off 61% over the past 12 months, Visa’s stock has only fallen 14%, and the payments giant’s business has been seen as relatively resilient in the current climate given that overall consumer spending levels remain healthy.

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Now Meta risks dropping out of the top-10 entirely: The company finished Friday’s session with a $393.2 billion valuation, while 11th-place Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM, -1.71% ended at $388.5 billion.