Mark Zuckerberg Says Meta Reels Hit $50 Billion Annual Revenue as Reality Labs Loses $6 Billion

Meta closed out 2025 with a performance that its own reporting framed as strongly positive, publishing its “dernier rapport trimestriel de performances” after announcing “toutes les données le 28 janvier 2026.”

“Reality Labs, Meta's division devoted to the metaverse, is a real money pit”

01net

In that reporting, Les Gens d'Internet says Mark Zuckerberg, “PDG de Meta,” announced that “les Reels avaient atteint un rythme de revenus annuels de plus de 50 milliards de dollars.”

01net

The same source places Meta’s user base at “3,58 milliards de personnes sur l’ensemble de ses applications” at Q4 2025, describing that as “45% de la population mondiale,” and also tying the figure to “la suppression des 544.000 comptes d’adolescents” after “l’interdiction des réseaux sociaux aux mineurs en Australie.”

On the financial side, Les Gens d'Internet reports that Meta generated “59,89 milliards de dollars” in the last quarter of 2025, and that “sur l’année, cela représente 200 milliards de dollars de revenu.”

It also says advertising drove the majority, with “plus de 58 milliards de dollars” from advertising during the period.

Yet the same account highlights that Reality Labs, which “englobe le pôle VR et AR,” did not match the rest of the company’s momentum, noting “955 millions de dollars de revenus au Q4 de 2025” alongside “une perte de 6 milliards de dollars pendant le trimestre.”

Investing México adds more market-facing detail from the same earnings announcement, saying Meta reported “ganancias de $59.9 mil millones” and “ganancias por acción de $8.88,” and that the stock rose “un 0.38%” in after-market trading to “$675.55.”

Alongside the strong 2025 quarter, multiple outlets describe Meta’s spending pivot toward artificial intelligence as a central theme of its outlook.

Les Gens d'Internet says Meta expects “des dépenses comprises entre 162 et 169 milliards de dollars” for 2026, explicitement linking that range to “le coût de ses infrastructures et le paiement de ses employés,” and it adds that the company’s headcount rose “de 6%” year over year.

Al-Ain Français

The same source states that “les coûts de dépenses totaux en lien avec l’intelligence artificielle ont bondi de 40% en un an, jusqu’à atteindre 35,15 milliards de dollars” in 2025.

Option Finance frames the 2026 guidance in market terms, reporting Meta expects revenue between “$53.5 billion and $56.5 billion” for Q1 2026 and that it anticipates “un sharp rise in its spending in 2026, between $162 billion and $169 billion,” including “up to $135 billion devoted to capital investments, mainly in artificial intelligence.”

It also says Meta is “currently testing a new AI model, 'Avocado', successor to Llama, whose release is expected in the first half of the year.”

TechCrunch connects the spending to infrastructure and compute, quoting Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg: “We are increasing our infrastructure capex forecast for this year,” and adding “Most of that is due to higher component costs, particularly memory pricing.”

TechCrunch also quotes Meta CFO Susan Li on forecasting uncertainty, saying: “Our experience so far has been that we have continued to underestimate our compute needs.”

While Meta’s main business is described as profitable, the sources repeatedly return to Reality Labs as the unit that continues to lose money even as AI spending rises.

“As Meta pumps increasing amounts of cash into artificial intelligence, the company's metaverse efforts continue to bleed money”

CNBC

Les Gens d'Internet reports that Reality Labs generated “955 millions de dollars de revenus au Q4 de 2025” but that Meta recorded “une perte de 6 milliards de dollars pendant le trimestre.”

Investing México provides a segment-level breakdown for the fourth quarter of 2025, saying the “segmento Familia de Aplicaciones (FoA)” generated “$58.9 mil millones” in gains with “ingreso operativo de $30.8 mil millones,” while Reality Labs recorded “$955 millones en ganancias” but “reportó una pérdida operativa de $6.0 mil millones.”

CNBC describes the first quarter of 2026 results in similar terms, saying Reality Labs “recorded an operating loss of $4.03 billion while bringing in $402 million in sales,” and it adds that Reality Labs has accumulated “over $80 billion in total operating losses since late 2020.”

GIGAZINE and 디지털투데이 both emphasize the same Reality Labs loss magnitude in Q1 2026, with GIGAZINE stating Reality Labs “lost $4.028 billion (approximately 650 billion yen)” and 디지털투데이 saying Reality Labs posted “revenue of $402 million and an operating loss of $4.03 billion.”

Al-Ain Français adds a longer arc, saying Reality Labs posted “a loss of $13.72 billion in 2022 on revenues of only $2.16 billion,” and it also cites a Q4 2022 operating loss of “$4.28 billion” on revenues of “$727 million.”

TechCrunch frames the pattern as persistent, writing that over “its last 21 quarterly earnings reports, dating back to 2021,” Meta has lost “a total of $83.5 billion on Reality Labs,” averaging “about $4 billion in losses each quarter.”

Several local and mainstream tech outlets describe Meta’s strategy as shifting away from virtual reality toward connected glasses and AI capabilities integrated into wearable devices.

Servicesmobiles.fr says Meta’s Reality Labs division “has just logged a vertiginous loss of $6.02 billion in the last quarter,” while the group’s advertising-driven performance reached “nearly $60 billion for this period,” and it frames the pivot around connected glasses.

GIGAZINE

It reports that during the latest Meta Connect event, the presentation of “the new Ray-Ban Display and Oakley Meta Vanguard” confirmed the trend, and it quotes Mark Zuckerberg saying: “the majority of our new R&D investments for 2026 will be dedicated to AI capabilities integrated into connected glasses.”

The same outlet says CFO Susan Li told investors: “Headcount reductions allow us to intensify investment in our ‘personal superintelligence,’ while limiting overall losses.”

Journal du Geek similarly describes Zuckerberg’s message as “AI everywhere, metaverse nowhere,” and it quotes him: “I expect Reality Labs' losses this year to be similar to last year's, and that this will be the peak before a gradual reduction.”

It also says Zuckerberg summarized the redirection as: “We are now directing the bulk of our investments toward smart glasses and connected devices,” and it adds that Reality Labs cut “More than 1,000 positions” and closed “three VR studios.”

Option Finance ties the shift to job cuts, stating “More than 1,000 job cuts were announced in early January in this division,” signaling a shift toward “AI and connected devices such as Ray-Ban Meta glasses.”

Even with strong quarterly numbers, the sources describe investor scrutiny focused on Reality Labs losses and the scale of AI infrastructure spending, alongside legal and regulatory risks.

“Anuncio Anuncio Meta: Ganancias aumentan 24% en 4T 2025 mientras se aceleran inversiones en IA Noticias de empresas Publicado 28”

Investing México

TechCrunch says that despite Meta’s net income of “$26.8 billion” in the first quarter and revenue rising “33% year-over-year to $56.3 billion,” “the stock was down more than 5% in after-hours trading,” and it links the concern to the cost of building AI and the uncertainty of future capex.

Journal du Geek

It quotes Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on capex and then includes a direct exchange with a concerned investor about 2027 spending, where Meta CFO Susan Li replied: “We aren’t providing a specific outlook for 2027 capex, and we are, frankly, undergoing a very dynamic planning process ourselves as we’re working through what our capacity needs will be over the coming years,” followed by “Our experience so far has been that we have continued to underestimate our compute needs.”

Option Finance adds that Meta “warns of upcoming legal and regulatory risks, particularly in the United States and the European Union, which could lead to substantial financial losses.”

GIGAZINE also points to litigation risk, stating Meta has been sued “for allegedly making underage users addicted to the social media platform,” and it quotes Meta’s earnings announcement that “additional lawsuits are scheduled in the United States this year, which could ultimately lead to significant losses.”

Les Gens d'Internet notes that Reality Labs losses coexist with advertising strength, but it still emphasizes the “perte de 6 milliards de dollars” in Q4 2025, reinforcing why investors keep focusing on the AR/VR unit.

Meanwhile, TechCrunch ties the AR/VR losses to a longer pattern, writing Meta has lost “a total of $83.5 billion on Reality Labs,” and it describes the AI build-out as “even more astronomical” spending as Meta tries to stay competitive with OpenAI and Anthropic.