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By Katie Paul and Chavi Mehta

(Reuters) – Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc on Wednesday forecast a weak holiday quarter and significantly higher costs next year, sending shares down almost 20% as investors expressed skepticism about the company’s expensive metaverse stakes.

The forecast wiped about $67 billion off Meta’s market value in extended trading, adding to the more than half a trillion dollars in value already lost this year.

If Meta’s after-hours drop in shares is matched in Thursday’s trading session, it will have been its deepest one-day loss since Feb. 2, when the company last issued a gloomy forecast.

The disappointing prospect comes when Meta is competing…