Meta Platforms closed modestly lower, underperforming peer Alphabet as the company confirmed plans to lay off approximately 8,000 employees — about 10% of its workforce — beginning May 20, with an additional 7,000 workers to be transferred into AI-focused roles. CEO Zuckerberg framed the cuts as a necessary trade-off to fund the company's $125–$145 billion 2026 AI capex plan, even as Meta reported record Q1 revenue of $56.31B (+33% YoY). The stock has now fallen roughly 11% over the past month, lagging Alphabet's 16% gain, as the market continues to penalize Meta's AI spending without a clear external monetization path like cloud revenue — a dynamic that, combined with rising oil prices and bond yields from Iran-related geopolitical tensions, weighed on the broader Communication Services sector.

[...] Meta Platforms closed modestly lower as a broad selloff in AI and technology stocks weighed on mega-cap names, with rising oil prices, climbing Treasury yields (10-year above 4.56%), and Iran-related inflation fears pulling Wall Street back from record highs. Despite a stellar Q1 beat — 33% revenue growth to $56.31B and EPS of $10.44 — Meta has underperformed peers YTD, still…