The host of Mad Money, Jim Cramer, has apologized to investors for being wrong about Facebook parent Meta Platforms after its stock plunged to a record low. “I made a mistake here. I was wrong,” he said emotionally after stating previously that Meta was a good investment. “I failed to help people. And I own that.”
Jim Cramer’s Apology About Meta: ‘I Was Wrong’
The host of CNBC’s Mad Money show, Jim Cramer, apologized to investors Thursday for recommending Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. (Nasdaq: META) after the stock kept tanking following the company’s Q3 earnings release. Cramer is a former hedge fund manager who co-founded Thestreet.com, a financial news and literacy website.
Appearing emotional on CNBC Market Alert, Cramer admitted that he made a wrong call about the Meta stock, telling investors previously that the social media company was a good investment. He said:
I made a mistake here. I was wrong. I trusted this management team. That was ill-advised. The hubris here is extraordinary, and I apologize.
When asked what he got wrong about his previous advice, Cramer replied: “I believed that there was a recognition that there is an amount that you can’t spend … I trusted them, not myself. For that I regret. I’ve been in this business for 40 years and I did a bad job. I’m not proud.” He added: “I did believe that there would be some discipline … I expected discipline.”
The Mad Money host reiterated that his goal is to “try to help people every day,” noting:
I failed to help people. And I own that. Was I too close to the company? I did not think the company would be as ill-advised as to spend through what they had without any discipline whatsoever.
Cramer also tweeted Thursday: “Meta bought back $6.5 billion as free cash flow dropped off the face of the earth. I did not see this coming. I trusted this management and that was ill-advised.”
He detailed in another tweet: “It is Ford v. Facebook. Ford recognizes that it isn’t ready to produce the best Driverless and wants to spend the money elsewhere and be frugal. Frugality is a word never spoken at Facebook. At a point it is too late to sell META. But it is a seething monster of spending.”
META shares closed at $97.94 Thursday, having dropped over 71% so far this year.
This wouldn’t be the first time Cramer has made a wrong call about a stock. Earlier this month, Tuttle Capital Management filed for two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — the Inverse Cramer ETF and the Long Cramer ETF. In August, the Mad Money host recommended investors avoid crypto and other speculative investments.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s wealth has also shrunk by over $100 billion from its peak a year ago. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 38-year-old now has a net worth of $38.1 billion, a steep fall from a peak of $142 billion in September last year.
The company’s Q3 revenue fell 4.5% from a year ago, the second consecutive quarterly drop, after never posting declining sales prior to 2022. The social media platform faces ballooning costs from Reality Labs, its metaverse division.
However, Zuckerberg has doubled down on his metaverse focus. “I get that a lot of people might disagree with this investment,” the Meta CEO said, calling it “fundamentally important to the future.” He added: “I think we’re going to resolve each of these things over different periods of time, and I appreciate the patience and I think that those who are patient and invest with us will end up being rewarded.”
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