More than $110bn was wiped off the value of Facebook shares on Thursday after the social network warned of slowing user and sales growth, shocking investors into rethinking the company’s financial prospects amid wider concerns over data privacy.
The share price plunge of more than 18 per cent marked the biggest one-day value destruction of any listed company in US history, almost equal to the entire value of McDonald's and Nike, and larger than corporate giants such as General Electric, Goldman Sachs and BlackRock or the entire Argentine stock market.
The precipitous fall came after Facebook unveiled disappointing quarterly results on Wednesday, and finance chief David Wehner warned of a slowdown in sales growth in the second half of this year.