Meta's AR/VR segment made £2.2bn in 2021 despite record operating loss

Meta (formerly Facebook) has shared its financial results for the full year 2021, with its VR and AR segment making $2.2 billion in revenue, compared to $1.1 billion in 2020.

This includes "augmented and virtual reality related consumer hardware, software and content," which are now known under the name Reality Labs since the rebrand in December.

However, operating loss for the segment amounted to $10.2 billion for 2021 -- an upward trend compared to a $6.6 billion loss in 2020, and $4.5 billion in 2019.

In the earnings call, a question was asked about this loss, to which CFO Dave Whener just replied that Meta does "expect Reality Labs operating loss to increase meaningfully in 2022, and that's incorporated into [its] outlook."

CEO Mark Zuckerberg touched upon Oculus Quest 2's sales, saying it's seeing "real traction" and that over $1 billion has been spent on its store.

"We had a strong holiday season and Oculus reached the top of the App Store for the first time on Christmas Day in the US," he said. "We're working towards a release of a high-end virtual reality headset later this year and we continue to make progress developing Project Nazare, which is our first fully-augmented reality glasses. "

During Q4 2021, Reality Labs made $877 million in revenue, up 22% compared to the year before, driven by these Oculus sales.

Meta's overall revenue (including VR/AR, Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Whatsapp, and more) was up 37% year-on-year in 2021 to $117.9 billion.