SNEAK PEAK:
- Meta’s metaverse division Reality Labs posted a wider loss of $13.7 billion in 2022.
- The company’s overall profitability for the fourth quarter exceeded forecasts.
- Meta’s stock rose by 19% in the extended trading session after the figures were released.
The company formerly known as Facebook, now known as Meta Platforms Inc., said that its Reality Labs branch, which develops virtual reality technology, had more losses in the previous year; nonetheless, it would continue to invest in the field.
Susan Li, the chief financial officer of Meta, said in an earnings call on Wednesday;
On Reality Labs, we still expect our full-year Reality Labs losses to increase in 2023, and we are going to continue to invest meaningfully in this area given the significant long-term opportunities that we see.
According to the earnings report on Wednesday, the company’s overall profitability for the fourth quarter exceeded forecasts, and it forecasted generally higher growth through the year 2023.
Concretely, more than $13.7 billion had been sucked up by Reality Labs over the last year.
According to CNBC’s reference to StreetAccount, Reality Labs produced $727 million in sales for the fourth quarter, slightly more than the analysts’ forecast of $715.1 million. In other words, the company exceeded those projections by a few million dollars.
Investors have been critical of Meta’s choice to keep pouring money into the metaverse over the previous several months.
For instance, in October, one investor issued an open letter to Meta with the heading “Time to Get Fit,” in which he recommended Meta put a budget cap on its expenditures related to the metaverse.
However, the firm has maintained an outwardly protective stance over its attempt to create a revolutionary new virtual environment.
However, Meta’s stock has risen by 19% in the extended trading session after the figures were released, showing that many investors need to pay more attention to the division’s losses (which amount to little more than 2% of total sales).