Meta, Facebook’s parent company, records first ever revenue drop amid recession fears

Meta Platforms Inc issued a gloomy forecast after recording its first ever quarterly drop in revenue on Wednesday, with recession fears and competitive pressures weighing on its digital ads sales.

Shares of the Menlo Park, California-based company were down about 4.6% in extended trading.

The company said it expects third-quarter revenue to fall to $26 billion and $28.5 billion, which would make it a second year-over-year drop in a row. Analysts were expecting $30.52 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Total revenue, which consists almost entirely of ad sales, fell 1% to $28.8 billion in the second quarter ended June 30, from $29.1 billion last year. The figure slightly missed Wall Street’s projections of $28.9 billion, according to Refinitiv.

The company, which operates the world’s largest social…