In the year 2022, the technological behemoth Meta disclosed a loss of $13.7 billion in their metaverse business known as Facebook Reality Labs (FRL).
In the fourth quarter of 2022, FRL reported a loss of $4.3 billion, which was lower than the expectation of $4.4 billion but higher than the loss recorded in the third quarter, which was $3.7 billion. In the second quarter of 2022, the FRL Division for metaverse had losses of $2.81 billion.
The division was responsible for a total loss of $13.7 billion for Meta in 2022, on sales of $2.2 billion. This was an increase from the loss of $10.2 billion on revenue of $2.3 billion in 2021.
Additionally, Meta announced that its FRL business made $727 million in sales during the fourth quarter of 2018, which is an increase from the $285 million reported during the previous quarter but a decrease from the $877 million recorded during the same period in the previous year.
The total income generated by Meta’s departments and applications was $32.1 billion, which was much more than the forecasted amount of $31.53 billion.
In November of 2016, Meta made preparations to reduce its workforce as its high dreams for the metaverse began to cool down. These worries had reappeared as a result of growing unhappiness among shareholders. Even Horizon Worlds, the main application for Meta’s Metaverse, had a hard time drawing in new users.
During an earnings call with investors and analysts, Facebook’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg shared his expectation that the Reality Labs ecosystem would see rapid growth over the next several years.
Quest 3, Meta’s most recent consumer virtual reality headset, is scheduled for release later this year. According to a statement made by Zuckerberg, the company plans to “establish this technology as the standard for all headsets going forward and ultimately, of course, for AR [augmented reality] glasses as well.”
During the results call, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, referred to the next fiscal year as a “year of efficiency.” Zuckerberg highlighted that Reality Labs was not in danger of being closed down and that it was deserved of being extended rather than the alternative, which would be closure.
According to a statement made by Zuckerberg, “Our goals have not changed. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) and, in the longer future, the metaverse, are the two key technology waves that are propelling our agenda.
Mark Zuckerberg revealed his expectation that Meta’s activity in the metaverse would bring about a “substantial” loss in the near run back in May of last year. He is of the opinion that the metaverse plan will lead to losses for a period of up to five years, which will have a significant influence on the price of the firm, but that it will ultimately be profitable.
Compiled by Coinbold
