“Zuckerberg presents a vision of what the future can hold, not what it can offer now,” analysts focus on failed bet on costly metaverse

Meta’s investor morale is low, due to dismal third-quarter earnings results and a depressing decline in the company’s stock price in the last week of October. Investors decry a risky and costly investment in the Metaverse, but Metaverse CEO Mark Zuckerberg is sticking to his vision.

Brian Jackson, research adviser to IT research firm Info-Tech, said Zuckerberg’s vision of transforming this niche of VR and immersive social worlds that has existed for more than two decades into something that most people get excited about includes: , said it would require significant investment. Meta’s product chief, Austin Chang, also explained that the company is looking to extend the current VR-only version of Horizon Worlds by making it available for PC and smartphones. For Chang, the expansion “opens up the metaverse opportunity to more people” while creating more revenue-generating opportunities.

But investors aren’t convinced. After Meta’s third-quarter earnings release, the company’s stock fell by 20%, trading at his US$100.55, the lowest since February 2016.

Concerns increased after the incident The company expects Metaverse reality lab costs to reach $101 billion in 2023, despite huge losses last quarter.

Jackson explained that Meta’s stock price is down for two reasons. “The tech demos by CEO Mark Zuckerberg show a vision of what the future can hold, not what it can offer today. It was made with motion capture technology, not n Worlds, so there’s still no compelling reason for consumers or businesses to buy an Oculus headset or invest in building that platform.”

Some experts have suggested that the Metaverse will follow the same trajectory as Facebook turned profitable after years of losses. But Jackson argued that short-term losses mattered far more to the metaverse. It’s no longer the startup that venture capitalists see as the payday of the future. This is a publicly traded business with shareholder involvement. ”

Either way, investors are disappointed because Zuckerberg isn’t bent. Although he owns only 13% of his financial interest, he has more voting rights in his stock than all other investors.

“they [investors] It may continue to make noise and force Zuckerberg to change course. They’ll have to test his determination to keep the course in the Metaverse, but ultimately he’s in charge,” Jackson said.