Facebook's stock price has had a rollercoaster year driven by an ad boycott, censorship controversies, and blockbuster results. Here are its biggest moves in 2020.
Shalini Nagarajan
- Facebook shares are seeing a steady fall as more advertising brands join a boycott movement against the social-media giant.
- The tech giant was one among the big few to perform comparatively well despite the storm of the pandemic, but its stock now tells us a different story.
- Markets Insider rounded up some of Facebook's big stock moves so far this year.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
As the poster child of Silicon Valley success, Facebook is very rarely a company that avoids the limelight, and 2020 has been no different.
In recent weeks, hundreds of brands have boycotted advertisement collaborations on the social-media platform over its refusal to censor or remove offensive posts by President Trump about protests in the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of police in Minneapolis.
In a prominent example of one such post, Trump wrote in reference to protests in Minneapolis that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."
Responding to Zuckerberg's inaction, over 400 brands including Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Unilever, Verizon, Ford, Ben & Jerry's, and The North Face halted their paid advertising on Facebook — some of them just for the month of July.
Facebook shares slid 8.3% last week as advertisers were joining the boycott against the platform.
That move, however, was not the only big shift in the company's stock price this year.
Markets Insider rounded up big stock moves for the company so far in 2020.
March 9: The pandemic strikes and hits the company's share price
On March 9, Facebook shares fell as much as 8.8% likely driven by a sharp plunge in the overall market from uncertainty related to the coronavirus.
Aside from that, a brewing oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia meant that demand for its advertising products could diminish significantly.
March 24: Advertising dwindles but Facebook sees a huge spike in platform activity
On March 24, Facebook said it had seen large spikes in activity across messaging and Facebook news feeds, but also said: "We don't monetize many of the services where we're seeing increased engagement, and we've seen a weakening in our ads business in countries taking aggressive actions to reduce the spread of COVID-19."
The company declined to say how much its revenue would be hurt.
Facebook's shares dropped as much as 13.3%.
April 29: Shrugging off coronavirus to report 'stability' in ad revenue
On April 29, Facebook's stock soared as much as 16% after the company reported its first-quarter earnings.
Despite a "significant reduction" in demand for ads, its revenue rose 26% year-on-year to about $15 billion. Its digital ads market took a major hit in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The company said it would not provide full-year guidance.
Facebook's role in connecting people became even more notable this year and was one of the companies able to withstand early losses amid the pandemic.
May 20: Facebook's new e-commerce feature: Shops
On May 20, the company's shares reached an all-time high of $230.75 rising as much as 6.4% after it announced its new e-commerce feature, Facebook Shops.
Adding more to its plate, the firm said its new feature on both Facebook and Instagram would act as shopfronts for businesses to list their goods.
Facebook was known to operate as a purely advertising-focused business, but the new e-commerce feature boosts its ability to compete with other established online shopping platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy.
May 30: Facebook employee outrage over Trump's George Floyd post
On May 30, CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post that the social media platform would not take down President Trump's post about the George Floyd protests taking place in Minneapolis as it was "warning about the possibility that looting could lead to violence."
About 400 employees staged a virtual walkout in reaction, and at least one employee resigned in protest. Zuckerberg had told Trump that the post put Facebook in a difficult position.
At this stage, shares of the company saw major turbulence.
June 26: Facebook ad boycott by over 400 brands
On June 26, Facebook's shares fell 8% as multiple advertisers announced boycotts of the social network.
Over 400 brands including Starbucks, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Unilever, and Verizon all halted advertising on the platform as they called on the company to do more to combat the spread of misinformation and hate speech on the platform.
In a statement, the vice president of Facebook's global business group said: "We deeply respect any brand's decision and remain focused on the important work of removing hate speech and providing critical voting information. Our conversations with marketers and civil rights organizations are about how, together, we can be a force for good."
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