Meta Experiences Significant Decline in Q3 Profits

In the third quarter, Meta saw substantial year-over-year drops in both net and operating income, while revenue also declined, albeit to a lesser extent. The company released its quarterly financial results, which ended on September 30, and the key takeaways are: $28 billion in revenue, representing a 4% decrease from the previous year; $5.6 billion in operating income, a 46% decline; and $4.4 billion in net income, down 52%. Daily active users rose 3% to 2 billion, and monthly users increased 2% year-over-year. Meta's founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, expressed satisfaction with the growth of the community and the strong engagement driven by the discovery engine and products like Reels, stating, 'While we face near-term revenue challenges, the fundamentals are in place for a return to stronger revenue growth.' The forecast for the fourth quarter expects revenue to be between $30 billion and $32.5 billion. Meta's CFO, David Wehner, provided insights into the company's 2023 performance. The Reality Labs division, which focuses on AR/VR, continued to impact results negatively, posting an operating loss of $3.76 billion, with total operating losses of $9.44 billion in the first nine months of the fiscal year. Wehner noted, 'We anticipate our cost of revenue growth to accelerate, driven primarily by infrastructure expenses and, to a lesser extent, Reality Labs hardware costs related to the upcoming launch of our next-generation consumer Quest headset.' Following the earnings report, Meta's stock price dropped 25% to $97.98. The Meta Quest Pro was unveiled two weeks ago and is now available for purchase.