« Meta is investing for the long term. That’s the gist of what Mark Zuckerberg about the metaverse with each new salvo of financial results financial results. Despite disappointing figures in the field, the California-based company persists and says « fully committed in the development of this new technology. Moreover, its losses are largely compensated by its rising profits in the second quarter of 2023. The CEO and CFO gave an update yesterday, and we’re summing it all up for you today.
Reality Labs loses $3.7 billion in Q2…
By now you’re used to it. The earnings calls are a must-attend financial event on the other side of the Atlantic, setting the pace for the US economy quarter after quarter. This exercise in style is a must, and one that Mark Zuckerberg willingly complies. However, since the creation of the Reality Labs division in 2020, he must now answer to a question that comes up like a sea serpent: how much did Meta lose because of the metaverse?
And in this second quarter, the answer is 3.7 billion dollars. Susan LiMeta’s CFO, recalled that losses amounted to 4 billion in the first quarter of 2023 and to 2,8 billion for the same period in 2022. But these figures inevitably disappointing for investors and observers, management is not panicking and is defending its in-house policy.
« This is an ambitious long-term roadmap with multiple facets. There are many components in the Reality Labs portfolio, such as virtual reality, the metaverse, augmented reality, social platforms, neural interfaces. And we really have a long-term horizon to evaluate the return on our investments in the field. »
Mark Zuckerberg
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Because when it comes to research, Meta focuses on technologies of the future and does not stop at present results. This is all the more true in the other major area that the CEO is currently passionate about: theartificial intelligence. He was keen to point out how complementary these two sectors are for him:
« I’ve said on a number of these calls – and I’m sure you’ll agree – that the two sectors are complementary. earnings calls – that the two technology waves we’re working on are AI in the short term and the metaverse in the longer term. We are working in parallel on these two major priorities for many years. And in many ways, the two areas overlap and complement each other. »
Mark Zuckerberg
Finally, faced with the insistence of journalists, but above all their doubts, he made this confession in the form of a prophecy:
« I can’t guarantee that I’ll be right on this bet, but I think this is the direction the world is headed. »
History will tell whether Mark Zuckerberg was a visionary, or whether he was wrong from the start of this metaverse adventure. But for Meta, this quarterit’s all the same 7.79 billion in profitsup 16% on the same period last year. The number of Facebook and Instagram users also increased, with a annual sales up 11% to 35 billion dollars. Inevitably, the markets reacted positively, and the entire Meta team went back to work to await the next one. earnings call where he will be asked again how much Reality Labs has lost.
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