Meta Says it Lost 20 Million Users at the Beginning of the Year
Meta reported losing 20 million users across its apps at the start of 2026, attributing the decline to internet disruptions in Iran and WhatsApp access restrictions in Russia. Despite recording 3.5 billion daily users and strong financial results, the company's stock dropped 9% amid concerns over its massive AI spending. Meta also faces global regulatory fines, lawsuits over child safety, and plans to cut 10% of its workforce to fund AI infrastructure.
- ▪Meta lost 20 million users across its family of apps in early 2026, according to its Q1 earnings call.
- ▪The company recorded $26.8 billion in net income and $56.3 billion in revenue, a 33% year-on-year increase.
- ▪Meta's CFO Susan Li cited internet disruptions in Iran and WhatsApp restrictions in Russia as reasons for user losses.
- ▪Meta plans to spend between $125 billion and $145 billion on AI infrastructure, increasing its previous estimates by $10 billion.
- ▪The company is cutting 10% of its workforce, approximately 8,000 jobs, to redirect funds toward AI development.
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Meta Says it Lost 20 Million Users at the Beginning of the Year May 01, 2026 Matt Growcoot During a Q1 earnings call on Wednesday, Meta revealed it lost 20 million users across its family of apps. freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: "PetaPixel_728x90_ATF_Desktop", slotId: "PetaPixel_728x90_ATF_Desktop" }); freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: "PetaPixel_300x600_300x250_320x50_Mobile", slotId: "PetaPixel_300x600_300x250_320x50_Mobile" }); The company, which still recorded 3.5 billion daily visitors, didn’t specify whether the users are bleeding from Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp; instead, Meta’s chief financial officer, Susan Li, blamed “internet disruptions in Iran, as well as a restriction on access to WhatsApp in Russia.” According to Fortune, Meta’s…
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