Facebook’s Stock Value Is Down And Losing Young Users

A few years ago, Facebook was the go-to social media site for everyone, from teens to even folks in their 80s. Then Twitter came along, followed by Instagram, and now Snapchat, which stole some of Mark Zuckerberg’s thunder. Facebook still has an impressive number of users, which was at 1.7 billion at last count, but it’s clearly losing appeal to the younger generation. This has not only affected its status as THE social network but also its stock value.

Facebook has been steadily losing young users over the last several years, Computerworld reports, and the loss is only getting worse. The publication cited the survey done by Piper Jaffray Companies which asked 10,000 U.S. teens regarding their social media habits. According to the results, fall saw only 52 percent of the teens using Facebook once a month. During spring, that number jumped slightly to 60 percent using the social network once a month.

According to analysts at Piper Jaffray, there is certainly a sharp decline in interest on Facebook among younger users as compared to Instagram and Snapchat. To add to Facebook’s woes, when participants of the survey were asked which social media network they preferred, only 13 percent said Facebook. It’s no wonder Zuckerberg is trying to corner practically every market he can get his hands on.

This is prompting some analysts like those in Seeking Alpha to become bearish on Facebook’s stocks, saying that the social network’s worth is destined for decline in the coming months. One analyst is actually shaving $60 billion off of Facebook’s valuation due to a combination of economic factors and losing its grip on younger users.

Right now, Facebook is valued at $370 billion in terms of market cap, which puts it quite close to Amazon. It still has a significant presence in the stock market as well, but analysts are saying that its prospects for growth are looking dim.