Ben Winck Jan. 11, 2021, 06:27 PM
- Facebook tumbled as much as 4.5% on Monday as the company’s indefinite ban of President Trump continued to drive investors out of the stock.
- The plunge saw $33.6 billion erased from Facebook’s market cap at intraday lows.
- CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the ban on Thursday, saying the president’s role in the violent storming of the Capitol makes it too risky to keep him on the platform.
- Twitter, which permanently banned Trump on Friday, also underperformed amid the broad market slump.
- Watch Facebook trade live here.
Facebook sank as much as 4.5% on Monday as investors continued to balk at the platform’s ban of President Donald Trump.
The slide saw $33.6 billion erased from Facebook’s market cap at intraday lows. Shares have since pared some losses and now trade about 2.6% lower.
The stock’s decline comes as Wall Street reconciles with the president’s role in encouraging supporters to storm the Capitol on Wednesday. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Thursday the company would ban Trump “indefinitely,” adding the risks of allowing him to remain on the platform “are simply too great.”
Twitter, which permanently banned Trump on Friday, also underperformed the broader market slump on Monday. The downturns saw the communications-services stocks drop more than any other S&P 500 sector.
While Facebook is far from the only platform to ban Trump, it is among the largest to do so. Investors likely fear that the move will lead pro-Trump users to boycott the website and congregate elsewhere. Right-wing social-media platform Parler was poised to take in such users until Amazon removed the website from its hosting service.
Additionally, CNN’s Kevin Liptak reported on Monday that the president might retaliate against big tech companies in response to the bans. He signaled he may lash out through executive actions against the companies but it’s unclear what those policies would look like, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Facebook traded at $259.78 as of 11:45 a.m. ET, down roughly 4% year-to-date. The company has 51 “buy” ratings, three “hold” ratings, and two “sell” ratings from analysts.