Facebook loses $58bn in value after data breach

Facebook lost $58 billion in value this week after its handling of a historic data breach, reports BBC.

News DeskEnglishbdnews24.com
Published : 24 March 2018, 09:49 AM
Updated : 24 March 2018, 09:49 AM

Founder Mark Zuckerberg apologised for data breaches that affected 50 million users.

However, the apology could not prevent investors from selling shares in Facebook, with many speculating the level of damage for the social network.

The breach that initiated a social media trend #deletefacebook was termed as a "light bulb" moment for users.

The negative headlines influenced some advertisers leading them to say "enough is enough".

Shares of the social media company fell to $159.3 by Friday night from $176.8 on Monday.

With the fall in share prices, the question also arose if it will be recovered.

Facebook's initial public offering in 2012 priced shares at $38 each, giving the company a market valuation of close to $104 billion.

Its share price rose to $190 by February this year thanks to the steady user growth and digital advertising market.

Brian Wieser, senior analyst at Pivotal Research, said the share price slump showed investors were wary of increased regulation and users leaving the platform, but there's little risk of advertisers leaving Facebook.

“Where else would they go?" he said.

Hargreaves Lansdown senior analyst Laith Khalaf said the week had been a "damaging episode" in Facebook's history.

He said if the secret of Facebook’s success lies in more people using it, the same dynamic cuts in the opposite direction when it loses users as a result of this scandal.