Meta’s Reality Labs reported a massive $17.7 billion loss in 2024, pushing total losses since 2019 beyond $68 billion. Despite Mark Zuckerberg’s insistence that the metaverse is the “future of the internet,” Reality Labs continues to struggle with adoption and ROI. Meanwhile, Meta’s advertising business remains its financial backbone. As Wall Street grows impatient, doubts rise over whether the metaverse experiment will ever pay off.