U.S. markets closed

  • S&P 500

    3,750.77
    -98.85 (-2.57%)
     

  • Dow 30

    30,303.17
    -633.83 (-2.05%)
     

  • Nasdaq

    13,270.60
    -355.47 (-2.61%)
     

  • Russell 2000

    2,108.70
    -41.16 (-1.91%)
     

  • Crude Oil

    52.46
    -0.39 (-0.74%)
     

  • Gold

    1,838.80
    -6.10 (-0.33%)
     

  • Silver

    25.23
    -0.16 (-0.63%)
     

  • EUR/USD

    1.2102
    -0.0009 (-0.07%)
     

  • 10-Yr Bond

    1.0140
    -0.0260 (-2.50%)
     

  • GBP/USD

    1.3669
    -0.0022 (-0.16%)
     

  • USD/JPY

    104.2340
    +0.1620 (+0.16%)
     

  • BTC-USD

    30,414.89
    -2,354.71 (-7.19%)
     

  • CMC Crypto 200

    615.55
    -24.37 (-3.81%)
     

  • FTSE 100

    6,567.37
    -86.64 (-1.30%)
     

  • Nikkei 225

    28,635.21
    +89.01 (+0.31%)
     

Facebook predicts ‘uncertainty' in 2021, blames upcoming iOS 14 update

Karissa Bell
·Senior Editor
·2 min read

Facebook’s business has boomed during the coronavirus pandemic, but 2021 might prove more difficult. The company cautioned in its latest earnings report that new privacy features in Apple’s iOS 14 update could contribute to a slowdown in advertising revenue.

The social network has been a vocal critic of Apple’s upcoming changes, which requires app makers to gain users’ explicit consent before turning on ad-tracking features, and has warned of the impact the changes could have in the past. But with those changes now imminent, the threat to Facebook’s bottom line will no longer be theoretical.

In a statement, Facebook CFO Dave Wehner said the company’s advertising business could start to take a hit “beginning late in the first quarter.”

“We continue to face significant uncertainty as we manage through a number of cross currents in 2021,” Wehner said. “We also expect to face more significant ad targeting headwinds in 2021. This includes the impact of platform changes, notably iOS 14, as well as the evolving regulatory landscape.” Additionally, he said that ad revenue could slow down if the pandemic trends that have so far been beneficial for the company — namely the massive increase in online shopping — begin to subside.

The warnings clouded what were otherwise strong results for Facebook. The company reported $28 billion in revenue for the quarter, and grew its user base to 1.84 billion daily active users and 2.8 billion monthly active users. Additionally, the company reported 3.3 billion “family monthly active people,” which refers to people who use at least one of the company’s “family” of apps.

During a call with analysts, Mark Zuckerberg criticized Apple for using its “dominant position” to interfere with competing apps like WhatsApp, which he said was “clearly superior” since Apple’s iMessage platform.

Latest Stories

  • Why the stock market just got clobbered

    Did the stock market bubble just pop?

  • Apple reports record earnings powered by iPhone 12 sales

    Apple posted record Q1 earnings on the strength of iPhone sales.

  • GameStop Stock Drops After SEC Announcement. An Expert Says the Agency’s Statement Means Little for Now.

    Shares of highly shorted companies like Bed Bath & Beyond, National Beverage, and AMC Entertainment have surged alongside GameStop in recent trading.

  • GameStop rally quashes hedge funds, brings calls for scrutiny

    Shares of GameStop and AMC Entertainment Holdings more than doubled on Wednesday, forcing hedge funds to retreat with heavy losses and sparking calls for scrutiny of social media-driven stock market trading. Short-seller Citron, a target for some of the individual participants on Reddit's "WallStreetbets" thread who have helped drive gains for several niche stocks in the past week, said in a video post it had abandoned its bet on GameStop shares falling after the video game retailer's value soared almost tenfold in a fortnight. With commentators and lawyers calling for scrutiny of the moves, Nasdaq chief Adena Friedman said exchanges and regulators needed to pay attention to the potential for "pump and dump" schemes driven by chatter on social media.

  • Stock market news live updates: Stocks sink after Fed decision, S&P 500 posts worst session in three months

    Stocks dipped Wednesday as investors awaited another batch of corporate earnings results and the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) January monetary policy decision.

  • It isn’t just GameStop: Here are some of the other heavily shorted stocks shooting higher

    The dynamic that has seemingly contributed to a short squeeze in the stock of videogame retailer GameStop Corp. also appears to be affecting shares in a host of other heavily shorted companies.

  • GameStop saga is about 'working class vs hedge funds': Reddit WSB user

    A clash of the classes — “the old proletariat vs bourgeoisie” — is at the heart of the ongoing GameStop (GME) short squeeze saga, says one WallStreetBets user.

  • Tesla's power businesses are beginning to take off

    Tesla just released its latest earnings report, and the results indicate that Elon Musk's bets on energy storage and solar are beginning to pay off. The storage business was the star of the company's power plays in the fourth quarter, with quarterly year-on-year growth approaching 200%. For the first time, our total battery deployments surpassed 3 GWh in a single year, which is an 83% increase compared to the prior year.

  • Apple Earnings Crush Estimates and the Stock Moves to Fresh Highs

    Wall Street had been looking for a potentially spectacular quarter for iPhone sales following the recent launch of Apple's first 5G phones. The company delivered.

  • Dow Jones Dives After Fed Decision; GameStop Stock Surges; Apple Earnings Due

    Stocks sold off hard after the Federal Reserve monetary policy decision Wednesday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average down over 600 points.

  • What is Wall Street Bets, the upstart Reddit group that is pummeling Wall Street?

    Here's an FAQ about what's going on with the market and what "Wall Street Bets" is.

  • GameStop mania may have ruined this hot Wall Street trade

    And there goes Wall Street's reflation trade.

  • Nancy Pelosi Buys Tesla Calls, Stands To Benefit From New Biden EV Plan

    The ability of members of U.S. Congress to buy and sell stocks has been controversial over the years. One of its most prominent members made some purchases in December that could benefit from the new Biden administration. What Happened: It was revealed over the weekend that Speaker of the House and California Rep. Nancy Pelosi purchased 25 call options of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA). The purchases could have been done by Pelosi or her husband Paul, who runs a venture capital firm. The options were bought at a stake price of $500 and expiration of March 18, 2022. Pelosi paid between $500,000 and $1,000,000 for the options, according to the disclosure. Pelosi also disclosed that she bought 20,000 shares of AllianceBernstein Holdings (NYSE: AB), 100 calls of Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) and 100 calls of Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS). Tesla shares have risen from $640.34 at the time the calls were purchased to over $890 today. The call options were valued at $1.12 million as of Monday. Related Link: How The 2020 Presidential Election Could Impact EV, Auto Stocks Why It’s Important: The purchases by Pelosi are questionable as arguments could be made that the companies stand to benefit from new President Joe Biden’s agenda. Biden's push for electric vehicles, which could include lifting the cap on sales, would give buyers tax credits again and is advantageous for Tesla. The president has also suggested a possible cash-for-clunkers program that could incentivize customers for trading in used vehicles towards the purchase of an electric vehicle. Pelosi could now have a conflict as she works to pass clean energy initiatives from which her family could profit. Former U.S. Senator David Perdue, a Republican, was criticized for making numerous stock trades during his six years in Congress. Perdue was the most prominent stock trader from Congress, making 2,596 trades during his time served. Some of Perdue’s transactions came while he was a member of several sub-committees. The Justice Department investigated Perdue and found no wrongdoing. What’s Next: It's legal for members of Congress and their spouses to own stocks. The transactions have to be disclosed per the STOCK (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) Act that was passed in 2012. U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon is one member of Congress who has co-sponsored legislation to ban the adding of individual stocks by members of Congress. Both Merkley and Pelosi are Democrats. Pelosi’s transactions could push for more regulations concerning stock purchases by members of Congress. (Photo: Official U.S. Embassy photograph by Archibald Sackey and Courage Ahiati.) See more from BenzingaClick here for options trades from BenzingaCharging Infrastructure SPAC Plays: Is EVGo The Best Of The Bunch?Barstool Fund Nears M For Small Businesses And Is About To Get A Huge Boost From Michigan© 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  • American Airlines Surges After Mention in Reddit Stock Forum

    (Bloomberg) -- American Airlines Group Inc., the most shorted major U.S. carrier, surged after a mention on Reddit’s Wall Street Bets forum.“AAL the next GME?” said Reddit user u/cardiffgiantthe1st in an online discussion Wednesday, referring to the stock tickers of American and GameStop Corp., the video-game retailer that has quintupled in value this week alone.American’s stock gain adds to a flurry of share increases this week as Reddit-fueled retail traders take on short sellers and drive up prices. With stock after stock, legions of day traders have identified companies with high levels of short interest and piled in. In the case of GameStop, the soaring price has forced many short sellers to give up their positions.American rose 6.6% to $16.56 at the close in New York, the most since Dec. 3, after paring gains from an intraday surge of as much as 15%. Other companies on a Standard & Poor’s index of big U.S. airlines fell.The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier declined to comment.The gain isn’t “justified by anything fundamental,” Darryl Genovesi, an analyst at Vertical Research Partners, said in an email. He expressed the same view about the stock surge during the session of another company he covers, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc.Short-Squeeze RiskShort interest as a percentage of American’s free float is about 29%, according to data from S3 Partners. No other major U.S. airline has short interest of more than 5%.American is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday. Like its rivals, the airline has been contending with the unprecedented collapse of air travel because of the coronavirus pandemic.Following American’s advance, CFRA Research changed its recommendation on the shares to hold from strong sell and lifted its price target to $19 from $8.“We think the stock is a high risk for one of the recent retail-investor-driven short squeezes we’ve seen play out,” CFRA analyst Colin Scarola wrote in a client note.The firm also elevated Spirit Airlines Inc. from sell to hold for the same reason. Short interest is about 16% of Spirit’s free float, according to Vertical Research.(Updates from 8th paragraph with CFRA comments on American, Spirit.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Tesla Sees 2021 Delivery Growth Topping 50% As Q4 Earnings Miss

    Tesla missed Q4 earnings estimates late Wednesday, but sees 2021 delivery growth accelerating from 2020's pace.

  • Another GameStop? Here Are the Next 10 Most Shorted Small-Caps.

    Highly shorted stocks are being targeted by some investors trying to force people who have bet the prices will fall into covering. Watch Dillard’s and AMC Entertainment.

  • How trading apps are responding to the GameStop fustercluck

    The furor surrounding GameStop and its stock price has consumed social media, business television, and the hopes and dreams of many retail investors. After noting reports that some traditional brokers were limiting access to GameStop and other so-called meme stocks, TechCrunch was curious what the newer, app-based investing services were doing for their own users. A spokesperson for M1 Finance, a Midwest-based consumer fintech player that offers a basket of banking and investing services -- more on its growth here and here -- told TechCrunch via email that it wasn't taking "specific" steps regarding individual stocks.

  • Why GameStop is destined to become another Blockbuster video

    GameStop. Who would have thought the most talked about stock on Wall Street in early 2021 would be a past-its-prime mall retailer? And yet here we are.

  • Reddit Day Trader Army Fattens Fortunes of the Super-Rich

    (Bloomberg) -- A horde of traders on Reddit that see themselves as sticking it to the establishment by hunting for heavily shorted stocks is adding billions to the wealth of some of the world’s ultra-rich.Larry Chen, chairman and chief executive officer of GSX Techedu, saw his fortune increase $4.2 billion Wednesday as U.S. depository shares of the Beijing-based online tutoring company rose 36%, pushing his net worth to $15.6 billion on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.Fellow Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin’s wealth surged by $773 million through his stake in AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. A flood of retail traders caused the stock to spike as much as 310% even as the broader market slumped. Hedge funds such as Mudrick Capital, which owned 4.6 million shares in the cinema operator as of Jan. 4, also got a boost.Chewy Inc. co-founder Ryan Cohen added about $1.8 billion with his holding in GameStop Corp., the video-game retailer that has surged more than 1,700% this year. Fellow investor Donald Foss, founder of subprime auto lender Credit Acceptance Corp., now owns a stake worth about $1.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg index.Even the head of Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. benefited, with CEO Ellen Gordon’s fortune rising $185 million as the confectioner’s shares rose to a record, while National Beverage Corp. founder Nick Caporella saw his net worth jump $1.8 billion to $6.8 billion as shares of the maker of LaCroix soda water climbed 40%.Meteoric RallyDay traders have been piling into previously unloved tickers favored by short sellers in recent sessions, driving them to record highs. The meteoric rally of GameStop has already worn down some institutional investors, with Melvin Capital closing out its short position by Wednesday.The hunt for heavily shorted stocks is being led by the Reddit forum WallStreetBets, which boasts roughly 2.8 million members. Some of the more outspoken have taken an activist stance, portraying their campaign as taking a stand against such societal problems as financial inequality and generational injustice.Gordon owns just over half of Tootsie Roll Industries’ common shares and 81% of its B shares, according to company filings. Her stake in the maker of Tootsie Pops, Junior Mints and Dubble Bubble gum, which she owns both directly and on behalf of other family members, is now worth $1.8 billion.Cohen disclosed an investment in GameStop in August. By December, he’d purchased 9 million shares in the retailer for a total cost of $76 million and now holds a stake worth about $3.1 billion. GameStop shares rose 135% to a record $347.51 in New York after triggering three volatility halts.Wang, the founder of closely held conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, now owns a stake worth about $1 billion in AMC, which climbed to $19.90 in New York trading, the most since October 2018. Wang has a net worth of $14.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.(Updates gains starting in the second paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Facebook beats on Q4 earnings, revenue, but stock slides on 'significant uncertainty,' ad headwinds

    Facebook continued to churn out massive advertising revenue, but cited "significant uncertainty" as challenges mount.