Mark Zuckerberg’s aspirations to turn a future into the metaverse is today a very clear reality. The creation of a new virtual and three-dimensional ecosystem (3D) in which users can interact with each other and perform actions such as work, study, play or economic changes led Zuckerberg to take a step forward with his successful company Facebook.
Zuckerberg is not the only one who aspires to grow with this new ecosystem, it is already technology companies like Sony that are trying to make gold with the metaverse. However the scenario that is presented is another very different and not very encouraging.
Reality Labs, a division of Meta that is in charge of the metaverse, has presented in 2022 losses of 4,280 million dollars in the last quarter, figures that amount to 13,700 million dollars a year. The metaverse has become a nightmare for investors and Zuckerberg himself.
Mark Zuckerberg’s plans have been tarnished and what was intended to be a business success has become a issue to resolve. At the end of 2021, the American businessman changed the name of Facebook to Meta, pretending that it was its greatest exponent.
The losses of Reality Labs
The numbers are not at all advantageous, and it is that the Meta division obtained 727 million dollars in the last quarter of last year, adding a total of 2.160 million dollars a year. Although they seem encouraging figures if we compare them with those of 2021, the losses are more than notable, with a decrease in income of 2,270 million.
Faced with this not hopeful situation, the businessman Mark Zuckerberg continues to maintain confidence in financial expectationsand it is that some of the experts of Reality Labs predicted the losses in 4,360 million dollars.
But the losses in Reality Labs go beyond the metaverse and that is the sale of its Quest headphones has presented losses. In the United States, sales decreased by 2% compared to last year, and that is that in July the company announced the price increase of its reproductive device, alleging the need before the accounts presented. Four months later, in October, the company introduced a new device priced at $1,500, the Quest Pro VR headset.
The Meta company lost almost two-thirds of its value in 2022 due to the high costs of the metaverse but also due to the condition that advertising has experienced, especially now with its main competitors, Apple and TikTok, hot on its heels.
Zuckerberg’s response
The creator of Facebook does not stop and continues to insist on his new creation. Despite the fact that Susan Li, Meta’s financial director, reported that losses are still expected in 2023, far from trying to change the business direction, Zuckerberg continues in his efforts and is not willing to change the objectives of the strategy presented by Reality Labs.
The numbers are on the table and the losses are a reality, Mark Zuckerberg’s dream of the metaverse has to take off first, for which will need a large amount of investment in the development of virtual reality and augmented reality technologies. However, the CEO of Meta already stated for the New York Times that only 80% of the investments went to the main business, based on Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and Messenger, and the remaining 20% ββto Reality Labs, something that before the investment market gives you peace of mind and calm.
Still, Meta has announced that expects that in 2023 investments will accelerate and thus achieve operating income as soon as possible. They are considering a crystalline 2023 in which they predict growth, such that so Investors continue to shoot up Meta shares, already at 19%.
