Meta stock becomes poster child for Communications’ scary week (NYSE:SNAP)

A great week for stocks wasn’t felt in the market’s worst sector.

Ten out of 11 S&P 500 sectors wrapped up with a weekly gain after Friday’s close – but not Communication Services. That sector was deep in the red for the week, -2.9%, though the market as a whole still managed a 3.95% gain for the period, even with that drag.

Once again, high-profile earnings are to blame there. The latest faceplant by Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) – an earnings report where it warned of sales challenges and promised heftier metaverse spending ahead – led the stock to slide below $100 per share, its lowest point since 2015 and capping off a staggering $677B slide in value in 2022. Meta ended its week down 23.7%.

Alphabet reported out a poor quarter as well, but some Friday strength, and not that bad a fall to begin with, meant it lost 4.8% on the week – enough to weigh on the Communications sector and make the top five big-company decliners.

Spotify (SPOT) also made that decliners list, falling 6% for the week after its own earnings Tuesday raised the ongoing specter of low margins at the company.

The top gainer benefited from something of a relief rally. After Snap (NYSE:SNAP) spent last Friday sliding 28% after missing sales expectations, it almost seemed there was nowhere to go but up, and the stock led big-company Communications gainers this week with a 29.9% increase.

Pinterest was the second-best gainer, up 15.8% for the week, almost all on Friday’s 13.8% gain following its earnings beat.

And Charter Communications (CHTR) built one of the top gains for the week, up 11.5% – spiking first on Thursday following encouraging outlooks in rival Comcast’s earnings, then with strong subscriber numbers in its own Friday earnings.

The five best performers over the past five sessions among large-cap Communication Services stocks and larger ($10B market cap or more):

• Snap (SNAP), +29.9%;
• Pinterest (NYSE:PINS), +15.8%;
• Liberty Broadband Series A (LBRDA), +13.7%;
• Liberty Broadband Series C (LBRDK), +12.7%;
• Charter Communications (CHTR), +11.5%.

The five worst performers over the past five sessions among large-cap Communication Services stocks and larger ($10B market cap or more):

• Meta Platforms (META), -23.7%;
• Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), -13.9%;
• NetEase (NTES), -11.2%;
• Spotify (SPOT), -6%;
• Alphabet Class C (GOOG), -4.8%.