Without a doubt, the fate of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) stock rests in the hands of its founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Going forward, META will have to be on board with Zuckerberg’s insistence on morphing Meta into a metaverse business.
Before taking a position, however, financial traders should carefully read the CEO’s seemingly apologetic message to Meta’s employees. After some consideration, you might doubt young Zuck’s sincerity, and his willingness to reassess his business strategy.
When one person controls a company completely, the result can be a huge success or a dismal failure. It’s too soon to know how Meta Platforms will end up in five or 10 years. If 2022 is any indication, however, then the outlook doesn’t look bright.
This isn’t to suggest that Zuckerberg is deliberately trying to run his business into the ground. Yet, a stubborn leader can cause significant damage, and the last thing you need now is to invest in a metaverse-obsessed Titanic.
| META | Meta Platforms | $111.45 |
META Stock Is on a Collision Course
The Meta Platforms perma-bulls might point out that META stock had a rally recently. During this time, however, practically the entire stock market moved up due to a lower-than-expected inflation print.
Thus, a rising tide lifted all boats, including Meta Platforms. Even with that quick bump, though, Meta shares were far below their early-January price of around $338.
In other words, stubborn shareholders have been wrong for most of 2022, and just maybe a stubborn CEO is to blame. Quite frankly, the metaverse simply hasn’t been the huge hit that Zuckerberg probably expected it to be.
Sure, Millennials and Zoomers are open-minded about technology, but they don’t necessarily want to spend a lot of money on a special headset during this time of high inflation.
Zuckerberg’s Apology Just Isn’t Enough
It’s one thing to apologize; making meaningful changes is another matter entirely. Prospective investors should ask themselves: What specifically is Meta Platforms’ CEO doing to return the company to its former status and prosperity?
Yes, Zuckerberg is laying off over 11,000 employees, or roughly 11% of Meta’s workforce. However, this is likely to decrease morale at the company and could reduce the quality of Meta Platforms’ customer service. Besides, some analysts doubt that the job cuts will have a substantial positive impact on Meta’s bottom line.
Moreover, even while Meta Platforms is laying off so many workers, the company is still guiding for a whopping $34 billion to $37 billion in 2023 capital expenditures.
So, while Zuckerberg can say he’s “especially sorry” in a letter to Meta’s employees, this shouldn’t provide much comfort or confidence to the company’s laid-off workers – or to the shareholders, for that matter.
What You Can Do Now
It’s been suggested, and rightly so, that Meta Platforms hired too many people and is only now seriously considering retrenchment. While Zuckerberg’s job cuts are well-publicized, they may be a case of “too little, too late.”
An apology letter simply won’t be enough to convince skeptical prospective investors. The question remains: Is Zuckerberg really prepared to cut back on his headlong foray into the metaverse?
So far, there’s scant evidence that this is the case. Therefore, it’s just not the right time to invest in META stock.
On the date of publication, Louis Navellier had a long position in META. Louis Navellier did not have (either directly or indirectly) any other positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
The InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.