Meta has lost money because of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s plans for the metaverse, and the most recent quarter was no different.
Even though the social media giant’s fourth-quarter results beat what analysts expected, and shares went up after hours, its metaverse division Reality Labs said it will lose $13.7 billion in 2022, which is more than it lost in 2021 ($10.2 billion).
It also said that for the fourth quarter, it lost $4.3 billion, which was its biggest loss since the last quarter of 2020. In the last quarter of 2021, the company started to show how each division did.
During Meta’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Zuckerberg said that investing in the metaverse is still a top priority, even though Reality Labs hasn’t done as well as expected.
Zuckerberg said, “Our priorities haven’t changed since last year.”
He said that the company’s release of the Quest Pro headset was a success and that the next-generation consumer headset coming out next year will be “the baseline for all headsets going forward.”
Zuckerberg also said that the company will focus more on mixed reality, which is different from virtual reality because it combines real and digital things. The technology is already in the company’s Quest Pro headset, and its new consumer headset will do the same.
Zuckerberg said, “The MR (mixed reality) ecosystem is still pretty new, but I think it will grow a lot in the next few years.”
On the earnings call, Meta’s chief executive also said that 100 million people have already made avatars in WhatsApp since the company added the feature in December. He said that adding features like avatars to mobile phones could get more people interested in the company’s metaverse products.
“Most people will see the metaverse for the first time on their phones and start building their digital identities across our apps,” he said.
Even though Reality Labs didn’t do very well, Meta’s stock went up 19% after hours, from $153 on Wednesday to $181 on Thursday. It also said it would buy back $40 billion worth of its own stock, which was more than what was expected.
In 2022, the company’s shares fell by almost 62% because it reported its first drop in sales since going public in 2012. Zuckerberg has said that 2023 will be the “year of efficiency,” and he promised on Wednesday’s call to get rid of problems in middle management so that decisions can be made more quickly. In November, the company let go of 11,000 workers.
“I think a lot of what we do, it just makes sense to focus a lot more on efficiency than we did before,” Zuckerberg said.
Meta has lost money because of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s plans for the metaverse, and the most recent quarter was no different.
Even though the social media giant’s fourth-quarter results beat what analysts expected, and shares went up after hours, its metaverse division Reality Labs said it will lose $13.7 billion in 2022, which is more than it lost in 2021 ($10.2 billion).
It also said that for the fourth quarter, it lost $4.3 billion, which was its biggest loss since the last quarter of 2020. In the last quarter of 2021, the company started to show how each division did.
During Meta’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Zuckerberg said that investing in the metaverse is still a top priority, even though Reality Labs hasn’t done as well as expected.
Zuckerberg said, “Our priorities haven’t changed since last year.”
He said that the company’s release of the Quest Pro headset was a success and that the next-generation consumer headset coming out next year will be “the baseline for all headsets going forward.”
Zuckerberg also said that the company will focus more on mixed reality, which is different from virtual reality because it combines real and digital things. The technology is already in the company’s Quest Pro headset, and its new consumer headset will do the same.
Zuckerberg said, “The MR (mixed reality) ecosystem is still pretty new, but I think it will grow a lot in the next few years.”
On the earnings call, Meta’s chief executive also said that 100 million people have already made avatars in WhatsApp since the company added the feature in December. He said that adding features like avatars to mobile phones could get more people interested in the company’s metaverse products.
“Most people will see the metaverse for the first time on their phones and start building their digital identities across our apps,” he said.
Even though Reality Labs didn’t do very well, Meta’s stock went up 19% after hours, from $153 on Wednesday to $181 on Thursday. It also said it would buy back $40 billion worth of its own stock, which was more than what was expected.
In 2022, the company’s shares fell by almost 62% because it reported its first drop in sales since going public in 2012. Zuckerberg has said that 2023 will be the “year of efficiency,” and he promised on Wednesday’s call to get rid of problems in middle management so that decisions can be made more quickly. In November, the company let go of 11,000 workers.
“I think a lot of what we do makes sense when we focus a lot more on efficiency than we did before,” Zuckerberg said.
