Meta’s aggressive push into artificial intelligence (AI) has raised alarms on Wall Street, as the company continues to ramp up its spending with no clear return in sight. The company, which is investing heavily in data centers and AI talent, reported a significant increase in operating expenses during its latest quarterly earnings call.
Meta’s operating costs surged by $7 billion year-over-year, while capital expenses reached nearly $20 billion, driven by its AI investments. Despite the high costs, the company has yet to see substantial revenue from these efforts. CEO Mark Zuckerberg attempted to reassure investors, emphasizing the long-term potential of AI, particularly in advancing Meta’s research and improving its core business operations.
Zuckerberg acknowledged that the company’s current AI models were still in development, with hopes of creating “frontier models” that would offer unique capabilities. However, this assurance did little to calm investors, as Meta’s stock dropped by 12% following the earnings call, erasing over $200 billion in market value.
While Meta’s quarterly earnings were solid, with $20 billion in profit, the company’s deepening investments in AI have raised questions. Analysts pressed Zuckerberg for more concrete details on how this spending will translate into revenue. With little to show beyond new data centers and a growing AI team, the company’s future in AI remains unclear.
Meta’s most visible AI products, such as the Meta AI assistant and the Vibes video generator, have garnered some attention but are not yet positioned to rival major players like OpenAI or even Google. The company’s most ambitious project to date, the Vanguard smart glasses, is viewed more as a long-term experiment rather than a game-changing product.
As Zuckerberg continues to focus on future AI advancements, he noted that new products and models would be introduced in the coming months. However, the lack of tangible, profitable products has led to growing uncertainty about Meta’s place in the fast-evolving AI industry.
The company’s ongoing massive investments into AI may ultimately pay off, but with no clear revenue-generating AI product on the horizon, the pressure is mounting on Meta to deliver results sooner rather than later.
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