Meta Posts $33.7B Quarter Amid Metaverse Pivot

Meta is still looking to become a force in gaming and fitness.

Facebook’s parent company brought in $33.7 billion in fourth-quarter 2021 revenue, up 20% year-over-year.

“I’m encouraged by the progress we made this past year in a number of important growth areas like Reels, commerce, and virtual reality, and we’ll continue investing in these and other key priorities in 2022 as we work towards building the metaverse,” said CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

• The company’s Reality Labs segment, which includes its VR and AR efforts, posted its best revenue of the year, $877 million, up 22.3% year-over-year.
• However, that segment recorded an operating loss of $3.3 billion.
• The company hinted at further spending in that area in 2023 and beyond, noting that “Reality Labs products and services may require more infrastructure capacity in the future,” but “are not a significant driver of 2022 capital expenditures.”

Meta’s full-year revenue rose 37% to $117.9 billion — but the stock tanked in after-hours trading as active user totals and the company’s Q1 2022 revenue forecast missed analyst expectations.

Meta’s World Piece

Meta has been among the main driving forces behind the metaverse, acquiring companies and hiring hardware, VR, and AR engineers to fuel that effort. 

In June 2021, its VR division, Oculus Studios, acquired online VR game maker Big Box VR. It has also made fitness a key part of its metaverse play, acquiring VR fitness company Within in November 2021. 

In January, Meta partnered with at-home fitness company Liteboxer, which is producing VR fitness classes and content.