Meta AI 'Muse' Shock Sparks Widespread Drop in US Financial, Travel, and Telecom Stocks

Topping the U.S. Apple App Store
Concerns Over Digital Service Replacement
Shockwaves for Subscription-Based Businesses

With Meta’s launch of its artificial intelligence (AI) agent ‘Muse’ causing a sensation, the banking, insurance, telecommunications, travel, and subscription service industries are on edge. Concerns are growing that AI could either replace the entire spectrum of related services or fundamentally reshape business models themselves.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, introduced the augmented reality (AR) glasses 'Orion' at the Meta Connect event held on the 25th (local time) in Menlo Park, California, USA. Photo by AP

On the 22nd (local time), the S&P 500 Financials Index closed down by about 2% compared to the previous session. Shares of Charles Schwab and LPL Financial each dropped by more than 6%, while Raymond James and Ameriprise Financial also showed weakness. Both JPMorgan and Bank of America (BofA) were down by more than 3%. Small and mid-sized banks and insurance companies in the United States also experienced declines.

The sharp fall in financial stocks that day was attributed to Meta’s Muse. Recently ranked number one on Apple’s U.S. App Store, Muse is working in partnership with companies such as PayPal and fintech firm Plaid. Meta is expected to further expand its partnerships in the future to cover various financial services such as payments, financial planning, and insurance. In particular, the vast troves of customer data that Meta possesses through its social networking services (SNS) like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are increasingly seen as a clear threat to established financial companies.

Industry watchers point out that AI services do not just threaten to replace human financial advisors, but could disrupt the very revenue structures of financial institutions that have long relied on customer inertia. If AI agents continually optimize customer funds 24/7, the share of idle cash left in securities accounts and elsewhere could decline considerably. The Wall Street Journal noted that many financial institutions currently generate profits by deploying such idle cash balances.

Investing.com highlighted that not only financial firms but also the travel, subscription economy, and telecommunications service sectors are set to feel negative impacts. In fact, on the same day, booking platforms Expedia and Booking Holdings each recorded share price declines of over 3%. The concern is that as AI searches multiple travel sites directly to find and reserve the best flights or hotel deals, consumers may have less need to visit existing online travel platforms. U.S. fitness chain Planet Fitness plunged as much as 11% during intraday trading.

Telecommunications companies that operate subscription service models are also unlikely to escape unscathed. Investment bank Goldman Sachs analyzed that if AI agents begin automatically negotiating phone bills or switching users to cheaper carriers, major providers like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile could be significantly affected.

This kind of AI-driven sell-off is not without precedent. Back in February, when generative AI company Anthropic unveiled an AI automation tool, related stocks plummeted on growing fears that AI could replace existing software (SW) and financial services.

There are also forecasts that AI platforms could emerge as the new ‘digital toll collectors.’ Bloomberg Intelligence explained, "If consumers start handling financial, shopping, and reservation services through AI rather than on traditional websites or apps, AI platforms like Muse could position themselves as intermediaries between customers and businesses—directly capturing transaction revenue."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.