The last couple of years have been brutal for social media giant Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META). After spending billions on its metaverse ambitions, Meta lost sight of its core advertising business -- and investors didn't like that.

Specifically, famed venture capitalist Brad Gerstner of Altimeter Capital wrote an open letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the board of directors, urging the company to "get fit." The rationale behind Gerstner's stance stemmed from an upside-down operation at Meta that was unfolding in the public eye. The company's cash cow of advertising was taking a hit, all while expenses focused on other areas such as virtual reality (VR) were mounting, causing overall profits to shrink.

To Zuckerberg's credit, he listened to Gerstner and pivoted to a steadfast focus on accelerating advertising revenue and reducing expenses (mostly in the form of layoffs). 2023 has been a solid year for Meta, both operationally and for the stock -- which has returned nearly 180% this year.

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Source Fool.com