Facebook parent Meta’s revenue, profit decline amid ad slump

By BARBARA ORTUTAY
AP Technology Writer

Facebook parent Meta has reported that its revenue declined for a second consecutive quarter. That is raising questions about whether spending $10 billion a year on the metaverse — a concept that doesn’t quite exist yet and possibly never will — is prudent. The Menlo Park, California, company’s results were hurt by drop in digital ad spending as the economy falters. Meta, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, is also facing stiff competition from TikTok. Its disappointing results follow weak earnings reports from Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft this week.