Meta’s Reality Labs Unit Lost $13.7 Billion in 2022

With a $4.28 billion operating loss in Q4, Meta’s Reality Labs division recorded a total loss of $13.7 billion in 2022, the company said in its earnings report (via CNBC).

Back in 2021, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta’s future would be in the metaverse, a digital universe where people will work, shop, play, and learn.

At the moment, however, Zuckerberg’s dream of a future in the metaverse is costing investors tons of money, which also shows that Meta is still an online ad company.

Meta  said last year that it expects “Reality Labs operating losses in 2023 will grow significantly year-over-year.”Analysts were expecting it to record a quarterly operating loss of $4.36 billion on revenue of $715.1 million.

While accounting for less than 2% of total sales at Meta, the division lost more than six times the amount of money it generated in revenue last year.

Reality Labs generated $727 million in the fourth quarter, and $2.16 billion in revenue for all of 2022 — a decline from $2.27 billion in 2021 — including sales of Quest headsets.

In July, Meta announced it was raising the price of its Quest 2 VR headset by $100. The company said at the time that the price hike was necessary to account for inflationary pressures.

Meta then debuted its more expensive Quest Pro VR headset in October, pitching it to companies as an enterprise-workplace device for $1,500.

Overall, Meta’s fourth-quarter results beat analysts’ revenue estimates, sending the stock up more than 17% on Wednesday.