Home / Business and Economy / Meta Posts $18.3B Profit, Accelerates AI Investments
Meta Posts $18.3B Profit, Accelerates AI Investments
30 Jul
Summary
- Meta reports $18.3B net profit, exceeding Wall Street expectations
- Company invests heavily in AI, aiming to develop "superintelligence"
- Metaverse division continues to post significant losses
In the recent second quarter, social media conglomerate Meta (formerly Facebook) posted a robust financial performance, reporting a net profit of $18.3 billion. This figure exceeded Wall Street's expectations, as the company's revenue jumped 22% year-over-year to $47.5 billion.
The strong results were driven by Meta's growing advertising business and a rise in users across its family of platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. The company's share price soared by as much as 10% in after-hours trading, as investors were buoyed by the positive financial metrics.
However, Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg is now laser-focused on the company's ambitious artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. The tech giant has been poaching top AI researchers from rivals like OpenAI and Apple, as it seeks to build a team to pursue what Zuckerberg calls "AI superintelligence."
This AI spending spree has raised eyebrows, with some analysts questioning whether Wall Street will continue to back the expensive strategy. While most believe the investments will pay off by improving advertising efficiency and creating new opportunities, others signal that Meta's AI ambitions need a clearer sense of direction.
Notably, Meta's metaverse division, known as Reality Labs, continues to face significant challenges. The unit posted losses of $4.5 billion in the quarter on revenue of just $370 million, highlighting the ongoing struggles in the company's virtual and augmented reality endeavors.
