How Long Can Mark Zuckerberg Keep Up His Metaverse Bet?

Meta’s spent $25 billion on R&D this year but made $84 billion. The stock charts may seem dire, but they don’t tell the full story.

It felt like a Liz Truss moment. After Mark Zuckerberg pledged to keep sinking billions into an unproven Metaverse, the market revolted on Wednesday. Meta stock dropped 20% and kept falling on Thursday. The company’s now down 71% this year. It’s lost more than $700 billion in market cap and Zuckerberg’s lost $100 billion of his personal fortune. Investors who counted on the company felt ignored, betrayed, and pissed. Jim Cramer nearly cried on air.

But Zuckerberg’s program — unlike that of the erstwhile British PM — is funded, backed by the proceeds of a profitable, high-margin ad business that won’t force him to quit. Despite revenue contracting somewhat, Meta made $27 billion in the third quarter and $5 billion in profit. It’s earned $84 billion this year and spent $25 billion on R&D. Zuckerberg, with a special class of voting shares, has total control of the company. He’s not going anywhere and can keep doubling down on the Metaverse. It appears he will.

“These are going to end up being very important investments for the future of our business,” Zuckerberg told analysts Wednesday…