FB stock is trading down on Tuesday after Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) announced it was rebranding as FACEBOOK. Can capital letters save the toxic brand name?
The company, formerly known as Facebook, has drawn the exasperation, and laughs, of the social media sphere after it announced that it was changing its product branding in order to differentiate between the overall company and its various portfolio of apps. FACEBOOK will be the branding of the parent company, and that capitalized branding will feature on platforms such as Instagram and WhatsApp, while the original social media site Facebook will retain its lower case format. FB stock dropped about 0.2% after the rebranding spawned countless jokes online.
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Facebook’s biggest rival Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), led the charge by tweeting out “Twitter…from TWITTER.” It is not the first time in recent days that the two social media behemoths butted heads. Last week, Dorsey confirmed that Twitter would end paid political advertising in an effort to stamp out the blatant lie-telling that many politicians engaged in through baseless statements made in sponsored ads. FACEBOOK has said it will not follow suit, a decision that courted controversy with a UK election just weeks away. FB stock is trading at $194.32 on Tuesday.
US Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has said that she wants to break up big tech companies such as FACEBOOK, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and place them under tougher regulations. Warren took to Facebook to criticize the company’s rebranding efforts, saying, “Facebook can rebrand all they want, but they can’t hide the fact that they are too big and powerful. It’s time to break up Big Tech.” Despite the heightened scrutiny, FB stock is still up 43% in the year to date.
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While FACEBOOK may be under fire today, FB stock continues to go from strength to strength following the release of its third-quarter results last week. Net income in the third quarter grew by 19% to $6.09 billion or $2.12 per share and topped analyst predictions of a profit of $1.91 per share. With the company broadening its focus to cryptocurrency, it looks as though it’s going to take more than a few capital letters to topple the internet heavyweight.
Featured Image: DepositPhotos © TarasMalyarevich
