Meta (META) investors saw the stock closing -6.62% the last 5 days, which means it sits at +39.61% YTD.
Let's go through the news around Meta this week together.
2. OK TEENS - YOU CAN JOIN
3. ICELAND INITIATIVE
4. KENYA COMING FOR META?
5. TO INFINITY!
6. BRIEF OUTAGE
7. SAFER INTERNET DAY
8. MANAGERS GETTING THE BOOT
9. 1M1B PARTNERSHIP
10. HE'S OFFICIALLY BACK
11. FRESH LAYOFFS COMING
12. ANALYST CHANGES
LEGEND: Positive News | Neutral News | Negative News
Meta has partnered with the Government of India for the G20 Stay Safe Online campaign.
What does this mean?
Meta will be providing resources in many languages for Indian citizens to raise awareness on how they can stay safe online.
India is going through a massive shift in consumer's adopting technology, and educating the public on safety while connected to the internet is a major focus for the Indian government - and Meta wants to help with that.
Meta is rumored to be opening their Horizon Worlds (metaverse) to teens - for the first time!
An internal email outlined that Meta is focused on this initiative in 2023, while they continue to retain existing users as well. The new initiative for teens would allow ages 13-17 to join the platform.
This is a good move from Meta - because teens generally shape what the next popular technology is, not to mention they could also end up being the most active and engaged cohort on the platform.
We'll see when this is officially announced from Meta but it could be a major move forward for the Metaverse for them.
Meta and Entravision are expanding their partnership for the Icelandic market.
Entravision will be the authorized sales partner of Meta - meaning they will provide support, training, and handle billing to local advertisers as well. This is a growth initiative from Meta to expand in Iceland.
Meta may be facing a lawsuit in Kenya soon.
The employment and labour relations court in Kenya seems to have it's eye on Meta.
There isn't any major developments in this case, however it could be another hurdle for Meta to overcome if this proceeds further in court.
Meta and Dfinity Foundation have resolved a lawsuit around Meta's infinity logo.
This was likely always going to be Meta's win, but it was a slight overhang for the brand (if you even knew this lawsuit was active until now). Nonetheless, this is cleared up now and Meta has the right to use their infinity logo.
Meta saw their Facebook and Instagram platforms go down briefly this week after a technical issue, but it was resolved quickly.
This did affect thousands of users during the period of it being down, which means there will be come minimal impact for advertisers as well, however I do not believe this will be something that will materially impact their next earnings (worst case it's a rounding error).
Meta celebrated Safer Internet Day to help the younger audience stay safe online.
Meta used this as an opportunity to remind us of the tools they have available to fight online safety concerns. They also provided users (and parents) with online resources to be prepared for any issues that they may come across while online.
It's interesting to see Meta take a stance of good cop here - it's part of their initiative to continue rebranding their image as a people-first company!
Meta has sent a memo to managers - they need to start coding or they need to leave.
The goal here is to reduce the manager headcount, and move them to developer individual contributors (IC) roles. This will in turn increase efficiency and allows Meta to retain talent that they've spent years shaping for their culture.
Meta has been clear for their 2023 internal goal - they are focused on efficiency. And that means reducing spending on projects, investments and optimizing headcount and roles.
Music to investors ears!
Meta and 1M1B have partnered to create a community of digital citizens who are informed and aware of their digital rights and obligations.
They're calling this the Digital Nagrik Campaign.
This is an initiative to help citizens of India to create a safe environment for everyone, and to act responsibly in the digital world.
Meta is seriously pushing initiatives in India and these are worth paying attention to as that is a massive potential growth market for them in future years.
Meta has officially restored Donald Trumps accounts on both Facebook and Instagram after a 2 year suspension. This comes after the announcement of plans to do so in January.
Rumors are circulating that Meta is planning a fresh round of layoffs in March, according to a report from The Financial Times.
Word is that Meta has delayed setting budgets for teams as the plan is to trim down the fat even further. Remember, this is what Meta calls their "Year of Efficiency" - so there is most likely some truth to this rumor.
| RATING | PRICE TARGET | FIRM |
| Hold | $188 | Loop Capital |
| Strong Buy | $285 | Tigress Financial |
We look forward to spending a few minutes with you next Sunday for some new Meta news!
Disclosure: I am a Meta Platforms (META) shareholder at the time of publishing.
