Mark Zuckerberg loses $8.9 billion as Meta shares fall 4 per cent

Meta (META) partners with Shopify (SHOP) to expand Muse AI's commerce capabilities, enabling agentic checkout and product discovery. This follows Amazon's block on Muse, highlighting Meta's push for AI-driven transactions beyond advertising.

Meta's shares rose over 30% in September after the successful launch of Muse, an AI agent developed by Alexandr Wang. Muse gained 1.8m-2.8m downloads in its first two weeks, boosting Meta's market value by $200bn. Meanwhile, David Beckham's brand company, DRJB Holdings, reported a 20% revenue increase in 2025, with Beckham receiving $51m in dividends.

Meta Platforms (META) shares fell 4% on Friday, reducing CEO Mark Zuckerberg's net worth by $8.9 billion to $257.5 billion, according to Forbes. The decline followed Goldman Sachs' warning about the high costs of AI infrastructure for companies like Meta. Despite this, analysts like JPMorgan's Doug Anmuth see potential in Meta's AI strategy, including new wearables and VR products, which could generate significant revenue. Meta closed at $751.66, with after-hours trading at $747.82, down 0.51%.

Meta's AI agent Muse became the top free app on U.S. app stores within two weeks, driving a 4.5% stock increase to $777.59. Meta unveiled new VR hardware and expanded Muse's shopping and work capabilities. Analysts raised price targets, but retention and competition remain concerns.

Wall Street rose on Friday, led by AI-related stocks like Microsoft (+3.7%), Qualcomm (+4%), and Dell (+5%). Akamai (+3.2%) gained after an $11.6B deal with Anthropic. Meta fell 3.3% despite a 13% weekly gain. S&P 500 (+0.51%), Nasdaq (+0.48%), and Dow (+0.93%) all closed higher.

Microsoft and Meta reported significant capital expenditures, $41B and $31.08B respectively, driven by AI infrastructure. Both companies fund build-outs internally and via leases, with long-term commitments. Investors should consider lease accounting impacts and future revenue to assess returns.