There’s fresh wind in the sails for Meta shares today after reports surfaced that the social media powerhouse is finally hitting the brakes on its money-burning metaverse adventure.
According to Bloomberg and The New York Times, Meta is seriously considering slashing Reality Labs spending. The division is behind all things metaverse and VR by as much as 30% starting in 2026.
A big chunk of those saved dollars will flow straight into artificial intelligence projects and the hotly anticipated augmented-reality smart glasses.
Meta shares skyrocket after the news
Wall Street loved the news. Meta shares rocketed more than 5% right at the opening bell on Thursday and closed the day up a healthy 3.4% near $661.
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Investors clearly see this pivot as a grown-up move after years of billion-dollar metaverse losses.
Why the sudden change of heart?
Simple: the great metaverse land-grab never really happened. Back in 2021 everyone expected Apple, Google, and others to flood the market with rival headsets. That frenzy cooled off fast, leaving Meta as pretty much the only company still pouring rocket fuel into pure virtual-reality worlds.
With less competitive pressure, executives apparently feel comfortable pumping the brakes and redirecting cash to areas with clearer, nearer-term payoffs.
That doesn’t mean Meta is abandoning wearable tech altogether.
Far from it actually. Mark Zuckerberg himself took to Threads on Wednesday to announce a brand-new in-house creative studio inside Reality Labs dedicated to design, fashion, and tech.
In his words, “We’re entering a new era where AI glasses and other devices will change how we connect with technology and each other.”
He promised every interaction will feel “natural, intuitive, and built to serve people first.”
So while the grand “log in and live inside the internet” metaverse dream is getting a serious haircut, Meta shares are celebrating the company’s sharper focus on AI-powered glasses that people might actually wear every day.
