Campaign is about to go global.
Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark ZuckerbergReuters/Erin Scott/File Photo
By Kurt Wagner, Bloomberg News
Facebook Inc. shares were poised to fall for a second day after more businesses, including Starbucks Corp. and Diageo Plc., joined the growing number of brands planning to halt spending on social media, undermining the company’s growth outlook.
Shares declined about 2.5 per cent in early trading before markets in New York opened on Monday. The stock had tumbled 8.3 per cent Friday after Unilever, one of the world’s largest advertisers, said it would cease spending on Facebook properties this year, eliminating US$56 billion in market value and shaving the net worth of Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg by more than US$7 billion. Shares closed at US$216.08 Friday after reaching a record US$242.24 the preceding Tuesday.
Starbucks and Diageo followed Unilever, Coca-Cola Co. and several other companies in saying they will cut ad spending, part of an exodus aimed at pushing Facebook and other social media platforms to limit hate speech and posts that divide and disinform. Read more >>