Top 5 biggest single-day losses in US stock market history

Meta Platforms’ stock crash on Thursday wiped billions off the tech giant’s market valuation, exacerbating a sell-off that saw the US indexes post huge losses.

But how does the collapse of Meta’s price following its earnings losses compare to other single-day tumbles in the US stock market?

In the footprints of Facebook parent Meta’s massive meltdown, here are the top five single-day losses (by market cap) in US stock market history.

1. Meta Platforms
2. Intel Inc
3. Microsoft Corp
4. Apple Inc
5.  Exxon Mobil Inc

Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms sank 26.4% on Thursday; the sell-off wiping out over $230 billion from the tech giant’s market value. The FB stock closed at $237.76, bringing the stock’s losses year to date to nearly 30%.

The rout now ranks as the largest single-day loss by a US company, eclipsing the $119 million Facebook (before the rebrand to Meta) lost on 26 July 2018.

To show just how bad the wipeout was for the stock market, shares of Twitter and Snap also fell, while Nasdaq (-3.74%), S&P 500 (-2.44%)and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-1.45%) all fell.

Intel Inc.

In 2000, as the stock market waded further into the dot.com bubble, shares of chipmaker Intel Inc fell more than 22% on 22 September to wipe out over $90 billion of its market value.

The microprocessor’s stock fell after the company’s revenue guidance that forecast lower sales in the third quarter.

Microsoft Corp

Microsoft (MSFT) saw its worst single-day losses in terms of market cap on 3 April 2000. The company survived the dot.com bubble to become the behemoth it is today, but on that day, over $80 billion worth of the company’s value went down the drain following an antitrust verdict. The stock fell more than 14% in one day as the broader market sold off in its wake.

Apple Inc.

Apple's (AAPL) shares tanked 12% on 24 January 2013 to see the iPhone maker’s market value dip by $60 billion. While the $60 billion wiped off ranks as one of the biggest single-day drops by market cap, Apple’s stock fell again on 29 September, with an intraday dump that cut more than half of the shares’ value before a late recovery.

Exxon Mobil Inc

Exxon Mobil lost more than $52 billion on 15 October 2008 as the broader financial markets descended into a meltdown. 

Exxon shares fell over 16% to see the fourth largest single-day wipeout by market cap, with the declines coming on the back of the financial crisis and OPEC’s report of oil price dumps amid fears of a recession.

There have been major causalities in the stock market sell-offs, with behemoths such as Amazon, Alphabet, and General Electric among the top 10 overall.