- Prabowo set to lead bolder Indonesia on world stage
- Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- Shanghai stocks pare early surge on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- New Japan PM to hold talks on ASEAN sidelines
- Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
- Former South Korea clinic for US 'comfort women' to be demolished
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- Chiefs battle past Saints to stay unbeaten
- Deal on climate aid hangs in balance at UN COP29 summit
- Royals hit back against Yankees, Tigers maul Guardians
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- Tragedy of Madrid street sweeper highlights how heatwaves kill
- Survivors wait for aid as Trump's lies help cloud Helene response
- Fleeing Israeli bombs, Lebanon's displaced met with suspicion
- Jila Mossaed, from refugee poet to Swedish Academy
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- Drugs, people smuggling at heart of Mexico's raging violence
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Musk says he is 'all in' on Trump in US election
- Category 5 Hurricane Milton roars towards storm-battered Florida
- Carpenter bomb stuns Guardians as Tigers level series
- Harris, Trump and Biden mark Oct. 7 attacks as US election looms
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- US judge orders Google to open Android to rival app stores
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights 'sacred' multi-front war
- Nobel scientist uncovered tiny genetic switches with big potential
- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
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Meta's quarterly profit more than halved to $4.4 bn
Facebook-parent Meta reported Wednesday that its profit more than halved to $4.4 billion in the third quarter from $9.2 billion a year earlier, and said it plans "significant changes" to bolster efficiency in a tough economic environment.
The social networking giant, which faces stagnating user numbers and cuts in advertising budgets, also said revenue slipped to $27.7 billion from $29 billion a year earlier.
"We're approaching 2023 with a focus on prioritization and efficiency that will help us navigate the current environment and emerge an even stronger company," Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said in an earnings release.
"While we face near-term challenges on revenue, the fundamentals are there for a return to stronger revenue growth."
The number of monthly active users at Facebook was up just two percent to 2.96 billion at the end of September, Meta reported.
Meanwhile, the number of employees at the tech titan tallied 87,314, a 28 percent increase from a year earlier, the earnings report stated.
"We are making significant changes across the board to operate more efficiently," Meta said in the release.
"We are holding some teams flat in terms of headcount, shrinking others and investing headcount growth only in our highest priorities."
The Silicon Valley-based tech firm said that it expects to hold headcount levels in check over the next year.
- Apple squeeze -
Big tech platforms have been suffering from the economic climate, which is forcing advertisers to cut back on marketing budgets, and Apple's data privacy changes, which have reduced leeway for ad personalization.
Apple last year began letting iPhone users decide whether to allow their online activity to be tracked for the purpose of targeting ads -- a change which it said shows its focus is on privacy, but which critics note does not prevent the company itself from tracking.
Meta expected that policy, which impacts the precision of the ads it sells and thus their price, to cost the social media giant $10 billion in lost revenue this year.
This week, Apple updated its App Store rules to require that apps offered there use its payment system for sales of "boosted" posts, which are essentially ad messages promoted to the top of social media feeds for a price.
The App Store is the lone gateway for digital content to get onto iPhones or iPads.
The change means that Apple will be able to collect its 30 percent commission on that type of advertising at Facebook and Instagram, where all the money made previously had gone to Meta because they used their own payment system.
"Apple continues to evolve its policies to grow their own business while undercutting others in the digital economy," Meta said in reply to an AFP inquiry.
"Apple previously said it didn't take a share of developer advertising revenue, and now apparently changed its mind."
Meta had long delivered seemingly endless upward growth, but reported early this year its first decline in global daily users.
In July, Meta reported its first quarterly revenue drop and a plunging profit.
D.Cunningha--AMWN