CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Thursday that Facebook-parent Meta Platforms‘ disappointing quarterly results are merely a blip in CEO Mark Zuckerberg‘s path to further success.
“I know that this is probably out of fashion, I have total faith in Mark Zuckerberg. I think Zuckerberg’s going to be able to pull off both the metaverse and also deal with the Apple privacy problems,” Cramer said on “Squawk Box,” referring to changes with Apple‘s iOS user tracking policy.
“There’s some people you have to bet on. And if you go back to 2018 to that horrible summer breakdown … no one thought these guys could come back,” Cramer added.
The company, then Facebook in 2018, saw its stock tank more than 40% from July to late December of that year to $123 per share, in an avalanche of scandal and controversy.
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Since then, the stock marched largely higher to an all-time high of $384.33 on Sept. 21, 2021. However, at Thursday’s lows, it has fallen more than 37% since those lofty record levels.
While beating estimates on fourth-quarter revenue, Meta reported earnings after the bell Wednesday that missed expectations. It also announced a conservative outlook, saying the controversy around Apple’s iOS will likely result in a $10 billion headwind in the Facebook parent’s revenue stream this year.
The company’s metaverse segment, Reality Labs — which includes revenue from sales of Meta Quest virtual reality headsets — reported more than $10 billion in losses in 2021. Meta’s CFO said in the company’s post-earnings call Wednesday evening that operating expenses will continue to “increase meaningfully” in 2022.
Meta’s Family of Apps side of the business — which include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and other services — generated more than $56.9 billion last year.
Still, Cramer said on CNBC on Thursday that he trusts Meta to make another comeback, especially when it comes to competing with social juggernaut TikTok. Meta’s competing product, Reels, is accessed on Facebook.
“I think he’s [Zuckerberg] a fierce competitor. He has decided that TikTok is who he’s gunning for. I think he’ll succeed,” Cramer said. “Mark very much recognizes this is not an existential moment, this is a strategic and competitive moment, and I think people are viewing this as existential, they’re going to be proven wrong.”
When asked about Meta’s top competitors, including Snap and Twitter, Cramer didn’t waver. “They don’t have Zuckerberg … He’s not going to stop until TikTok comes in second.”
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