Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg gives a speech introducing Meta’s new line of smart glasses wearing Meta Ray-Ban display glasses during the MetaConnect event held at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, USA on September 17, 2025.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
meta Efforts to build a digital world known as the Metaverse continue to be costly.
The company reported fourth-quarter results on Wednesday, saying its Reality Labs division posted an operating loss of $6.02 billion on revenue of $955 million. Analysts had expected Reality Labs to post an operating loss of $5.67 billion on revenue of $940.8 million in the fourth quarter.
Reality Labs’ loss for the quarter increased 21% year-over-year, while sales rose 13% in the same period. The sector has suffered total operating losses of nearly $80 billion since late 2020.
“We expect Reality Labs’ losses this year to be similar to last year, but this will likely be the peak as we continue to reduce our losses over time as we continue to execute on our vision,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on an earnings call.
Meta laid off more than 1,000 Reality Lab employees in early January in an effort to shift resources from virtual reality to artificial intelligence and wearable devices. This includes Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, developed in partnership with eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica. Meta has discontinued several VR initiatives, including its in-house studio, leading to concerns over VR winter, CNBC reported.
Technology chief Andrew Bosworth told media last week that Meta has no plans to stop its VR efforts, but acknowledged that the market is growing more slowly than executives had hoped.
Last fall, Meta didn’t announce a new Quest VR headset, but it did introduce AI-powered Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses. It costs $799 and has a digital screen on one of its lenses.
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