Meta is at an inflection point that could decide the company’s fate, but so far into the transition, it’s only been downhill for the struggling social media (metaverse?) company:

• Its stock price is down 52% in 2022.
• Quarterly sales declined for the first time.
• Facebook users fell for the first time.

Here are 10 things wrong with Meta:

1/ A slowing ad market is hurting Meta’s primary revenue source along with growing competition from TikTok.

2/ Priority changes and budget cuts are impacting employee morale. Meta’s workforce feels anxious and resentful per current and former employees (WP).

3/ Mark Zuckerberg has voting control over Meta — so you can’t fire him and you can’t go against his vision.

4/ Customers aren’t happy with the direction of Instagram. A focus on video and priority on content recommendations instead of follower content angers users.

5/ Apple’s iOS privacy changes continue to impact Meta. In February, Meta said the changes would lower its 2022 sales by $10B (8.5% of 2022 sales).

6/ Billions are being invested into the metaverse — a heavily criticized bet that won’t pay off for many years, if at all. Meta lost $2.8B in its VR division in the second quarter.

7/ It’s getting difficult to acquire companies. The FTC is trying to block Meta’s acquisition of VR company Within — worried they’ll own the entire metaverse.

8/ Meta is a hotbed for scandals. Meta is constantly running into data privacy and content moderation issues, and Zuckerberg is also being sued for its Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal.

9/ Meta’s number two exec Sheryl Sandberg left in June. She greatly impacted the company’s growth since joining in 2008.

10/ Younger demographics are losing interest in Facebook. FB used to be 42% of teens’ favorite social network — now down to 2%.