https://techmonitor.ai/technology/ai-and-automation/meta-ai-profit-unlikely

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has told investors that the firm is unlikely to profit in the near term from its multi-billion dollar investment in generative AI. During the social media giant’s latest earnings call, the firm announced that its anticipated yearly capital expenditures would increase to $35-40bn to fund its “AI roadmap,” with that investment expected to rise in 2025. Zuckerberg strongly implied that material returns from this investment would not be seen for several years at least. Markets reacted poorly to the earnings call and a subsequent light revenue forecast, with Meta’s share price declining by 15% despite its first-quarter annual revenue increase of 27%.

“I think it’s worth calling out that we’ve historically seen a lot of volatility in our stock during this phase of our product playbook, where we’re investing in scaling a new product but aren’t yet monetizing it,” said Zuckerberg. “We saw this with Reels, Stories, as News Feed transitioned to mobile and more. And I also expect to see a multi-year investment cycle before we’ve fully scaled Meta AI, business AIs, and more into the profitable services I expect as well.”