Why Meta Platforms Stock Lagged the Market Today

A simmering regulatory dispute across the Atlantic Ocean put a damper on Meta Platforms (META -0.15%) on Tuesday. The social media giant’s shares generally traded sideways during the session as a result, as the S&P 500 index cruised to a gain of 0.6% on the day.

Cut fees or else, warns the E.U.

For years, the 27-country European Union (E.U.) has targeted U.S. tech giants for their reach and power. In the E.U.’s latest attempt at mitigating this, one of its top regulators has warned such companies to trim certain fees for their services.

Specifically, E.U. antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager has warned Meta Platforms and its fellow Silicon Valley titan Apple (AAPL 1.36%) to cut fees they recently introduced for certain users. In the former company’s case, E.U. users must pay 9.99 euros ($10.87) per month for advertising-free versions of its Facebook and Instagram social media sites. The subscription tier was introduced in order to comply with the E.U.’s relatively strict Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Meta Platforms seems willing to narrow this revenue stream. In reaction to Vestager’s move, the company’s associate general counsel Tim Lamb said Meta is willing to slice the fee to 5.99 euros ($6.52).

Limited impact at best

Meta Platforms’ offer is clearly an opening move aimed at softening the financial blow of a fee reduction as much as possible. As is often the case with such regulatory tussles, there will probably be much back-and-forth until either settlements are agreed with the affected companies, or a regulatory decision is rendered.

Either way, Meta Platforms is hardly dependent on European subscription fees for its business. So I wouldn’t expect a huge impact on either its finances or operations, no matter how this story plays out.