This story isn’t an ad. But it’s about them.

Meta reported earnings yesterday, posting its second quarterly revenue decline in a row. Shares dropped more than 17% in after-hours trading, bringing the tech giant’s market cap below $300 billion – a level not seen since February 2016.

And they weren't alone on yesterday’s stock struggle bus. Shares of Alphabet dropped 10% after the company reported its fifth consecutive quarter of slowing growth – and first decline in YouTube ad revenue since 2019 – on Tuesday.

🤔 Why this is a big deal… As Shakespeare once said, “All the world’s an ad.” Earnings reports from big tech companies, who overwhelmingly make money off ads, lend insight into the digital ads market, an industry closely tied to consumer spending and behavior – and thus, the overall economy. (Tl;dr, it doesn’t look so hot out there rn.)

• Microsoft on Tuesday reported slowing growth rates for its search and news advertising business, as well as its LinkedIn unit.
• Last week, Snap shares cratered 30% a day after reporting weaker-than-expected digital ad revenues.

💰 Zoom out: Cracks are starting to show on the consumer side, too. Data released Tuesday showed US consumer confidence fell in October to a three-month low. Consumer spending in August only rose 0.1% after adjusting for inflation, and actually declined in July instead of rising as previously reported, the government said.