Facebook owner Meta has now posted almost $3 billion USD in losses for its virtual and augmented reality division in Q1 of 2022. According to an earnings report released on Wednesday, the company’s Facebook Reality Labs (FRL) division brought in a revenue of $695 million USD over the first quarter of the year, and while it surpassed the Wall Street-expected $683 million USD, it nonetheless represents a minuscule percentage of the $27.2 billion USD in revenue generated by Meta’s other apps, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. To make matters worse, the FRL division reported $2.96 billion USD in losses over the same period.
Meta also reported a loss of $10.2 billion USD over 2021, although its current adjusted quarterly earnings per share of $2.72 USD also surpassed analysts’ predictions of $2.56 USD. User growth also exceeded expectations for the three months, leading to the company’s share price increasing almost 15% in after-hours trading on Wednesday. CEO Mark Zuckerberg reassures that the company is now “laying the groundwork for a very successful 2030s.”
Elsewhere in business news, Razer is going private with a deal that values the company at $3.17 billion USD.