Facebook lost $150 billion in less than two hours

Facebook stock plunged by as much as 24 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday, due to alarm over the social media giant's quarterly report. The company has faced stiff criticism over the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, and executives warned that its revenue growth would slow and its expenses would rise.

The company had said it would face higher costs as it addressed concerns over the handling of user data. Total expenses jumped to $7.4 billion, a 50 percent increase over a year earlier. The diving share price reduced Facebook's market capitalization by about $150 billion in less than two hours, Quartz reports.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.