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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently showcased the company’s Orion AR glasses during the annual Meta Connect event held in Menlo Park, California, on September 25, 2024.
Meta continues to invest heavily in the metaverse, pouring billions into its development each quarter. In its latest financial results released on Wednesday, the Reality Labs division reported an operating loss of $4.2 billion for the quarter, alongside sales figures reaching $412 million. Analysts had anticipated a steeper operating loss of $4.6 billion, with projections for revenue at $492.7 million.
Reality Labs is pivotal to Meta’s ambitions, handling the development of products like the Quest-branded virtual reality headsets and the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses. This division represents Zuckerberg’s vision for a revolutionary computing platform that integrates virtual and augmented reality environments.
Since the end of 2020, Reality Labs has accumulated staggering losses exceeding $60 billion, which includes a loss of $3.85 billion experienced in the first quarter of the previous year. Notably, in late 2021, Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook to Meta, marking a significant shift in the company’s focus.
Despite the ambitious investments, Meta faces skepticism from Wall Street regarding its metaverse strategy, with questions surrounding the timeline for profitability. Recent developments also include the introduction of new tariffs by President Trump, which could impact production costs and, consequently, the pricing of Meta’s devices.
Following recent cutbacks, Meta announced layoffs affecting an undisclosed number of employees within its Reality Labs division, specifically from Oculus Studios, which specializes in VR and AR gaming content for Quest headsets. A Meta spokesperson stated, “Some teams within Oculus Studios are undergoing shifts in structure and roles that have impacted team size. These changes are meant to help Studios work more efficiently on future mixed reality experiences for our growing audience, while still delivering great content for people today.”
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