Meta revenue fell for the first time in its history
Facebook's parent company Meta just released its results for the second quarter of 2022, and it was another quarter of declining profits. Total revenue of $28.8 billion was down just 1% from the second quarter a year earlier, but net profit fell 36% to $6.7 billion. Achieving nearly $7 billion in profit isn't a bad quarter for anyone, but the magnitude of the decline from a year ago is quite significant. And, according to the Wall Street Journal, this is the first-ever revenue drop for Meta/Facebook — so even though we're only talking about one percent , it's still remarkable.
Meta's advertising and "app family" revenue was virtually flat year-over-year, and Reality Labs (home to hardware like MetaQuest and other metaverse-related initiatives ) actually grew 48% year-over-year to $452 million. But Reality Labs posted a loss of $2.8 billion this quarter, a loss 15% higher than the second quarter of the previous year. At this rate, it seems likely that Reality Labs will lose Meta more than the $10 billion it cost the company in 2021. Indeed, the company said it expects revenue from Reality Labs are lower in the third quarter.
It comes the same day the FTC announced it was seeking to block Meta's acquisition of workout app maker Supernatural VR Within, a proposed sale announced last year. "Instead of competing on the merits, Meta is trying to buy its way to the top," John Newman, deputy director of the FTC's Competition Bureau, said in a statement.
In June, Meta said it had 2.88 billion daily active users across its app family (which includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger) and 3.65 billion monthly active users, both up 4% year over year. from. Facebook-specific growth, however, was weaker – average daily and monthly users grew only 3% and 1%, respectively.
Today's press release also contains a somewhat unusual leadership change announcement. Effective November 1, the company will welcome its first Chief Strategy Officer, David Wehner, who is currently Meta's Chief Financial Officer. Vice President of Finance Susan Li will be promoted to Chief Financial Officer when this change takes effect. As CSO, Wehner will "oversee corporate strategy and development," a likely broader scope of responsibilities than his current role.
In today's call with investors, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said about 15% of the content people see on Facebook and Instagram are AI-powered "recommendation" posts , and he said he expects that number to double over the next year. So if you're already frustrated with the drastic changes Meta is making to Facebook and Instagram, things aren't going to turn back anytime soon.
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Facebook's parent company Meta just released its results for the second quarter of 2022, and it was another quarter of declining profits. Total revenue of $28.8 billion was down just 1% from the second quarter a year earlier, but net profit fell 36% to $6.7 billion. Achieving nearly $7 billion in profit isn't a bad quarter for anyone, but the magnitude of the decline from a year ago is quite significant. And, according to the Wall Street Journal, this is the first-ever revenue drop for Meta/Facebook — so even though we're only talking about one percent , it's still remarkable.
Meta's advertising and "app family" revenue was virtually flat year-over-year, and Reality Labs (home to hardware like MetaQuest and other metaverse-related initiatives ) actually grew 48% year-over-year to $452 million. But Reality Labs posted a loss of $2.8 billion this quarter, a loss 15% higher than the second quarter of the previous year. At this rate, it seems likely that Reality Labs will lose Meta more than the $10 billion it cost the company in 2021. Indeed, the company said it expects revenue from Reality Labs are lower in the third quarter.
It comes the same day the FTC announced it was seeking to block Meta's acquisition of workout app maker Supernatural VR Within, a proposed sale announced last year. "Instead of competing on the merits, Meta is trying to buy its way to the top," John Newman, deputy director of the FTC's Competition Bureau, said in a statement.
In June, Meta said it had 2.88 billion daily active users across its app family (which includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger) and 3.65 billion monthly active users, both up 4% year over year. from. Facebook-specific growth, however, was weaker – average daily and monthly users grew only 3% and 1%, respectively.
Today's press release also contains a somewhat unusual leadership change announcement. Effective November 1, the company will welcome its first Chief Strategy Officer, David Wehner, who is currently Meta's Chief Financial Officer. Vice President of Finance Susan Li will be promoted to Chief Financial Officer when this change takes effect. As CSO, Wehner will "oversee corporate strategy and development," a likely broader scope of responsibilities than his current role.
In today's call with investors, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said about 15% of the content people see on Facebook and Instagram are AI-powered "recommendation" posts , and he said he expects that number to double over the next year. So if you're already frustrated with the drastic changes Meta is making to Facebook and Instagram, things aren't going to turn back anytime soon.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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