Meta Actuality Labs income rebounded in Q2, up 5% in comparison with 2024. However this was pushed by the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, whereas Quest headset gross sales had been once more down.
Q2 2025 noticed Meta’s “metaverse and wearables” division usher in $370 million income, 5% greater than the $353 million of Q2 2024.
Meta CFO Susan Li advised traders that the 5% year-over-year improve was “pushed by elevated gross sales of Ray-Ban Meta glasses, and partially offset by decrease Quest headset gross sales”.
Li stated basically the identical final quarter, when Actuality Labs quarterly income was 6% decrease than the yr earlier than.
Li’s feedback come simply two days after Meta’s accomplice EssilorLuxottica, the French-Italian eyewear big that owns the Ray-Ban model, revealed that gross sales of the sensible glasses to date this yr have greater than tripled in comparison with the identical time final yr, greater than 200% progress. Its CEO advised traders that the glasses are performing “exceptionally nicely” available in the market.
Whereas Meta initially anticipated Ray-Ban Meta to be its final sensible glasses with no show, it is now working with EssilorLuxottica on a variety of choices from throughout its portfolio. The restricted version of the brand new Oakley Meta HSTN glasses has already began delivery, and common editions ought to go on sale someday within the subsequent few weeks.
Final yr Meta and EssilorLuxottica signed an settlement extending their partnership “into the following decade” to develop “multi-generational sensible eyewear merchandise”. And earlier this month, Meta invested €3 billion in EssilorLuxottica, taking a 3% stake within the firm, and it is reportedly “contemplating” additional funding to carry this to five% over time.
Ray-Ban Meta Gross sales Have Extra Than Tripled This 12 months So Far
Gross sales of Ray-Ban Meta glasses to date this yr have greater than tripled in comparison with the identical time final yr, greater than 200% progress.
In distinction, the truth that Quest headset gross sales had been down year-over-year for the second quarter in a row ought to be trigger for alarm for the VR/MR trade, particularly provided that this is not the results of any competitor consuming into Quest’s market share.
It means that, as Meta has hinted previously, Quest 3S has had a really completely different gross sales sample in comparison with earlier Quest headsets. Whereas Quest 3S had a really robust launch quarter over the vacations, driving Actuality Labs to usher in its highest ever income, this success merely hasn’t carried by to this yr.
Basically, plainly Quest 3S was a highly regarded Christmas reward, however has failed as a product individuals need to purchase for themselves all through the remainder of the calendar yr.
That is possible why Meta not too long ago essentially re-evaluated its headset {hardware} roadmap, canceling the main candidates for a 2026 Quest 4 collection whereas accelerating plans for an ultralight headset with a tethered compute puck, operating the identical Horizon OS.
Meta additionally plans to let different {hardware} corporations use Horizon OS in third-party headsets, beginning with Asus and Lenovo.
Meta Prioritizing Extremely-Mild Headset With Puck Over Conventional Quest 4
Meta is prioritizing delivery an ultralight Horizon OS headset with a tethered compute puck in 2026, and won’t ship a brand new conventional type issue Quest till 2027.
As at all times, the Meta Actuality Labs income got here at an unlimited value, and the division stays deeply unprofitable. Meta spent $4.9 billion on it in Q2 alone, leading to a “loss” of $4.53 billion.
Although whereas describing this as a loss is technically right in a monetary sense, a lot of it is also described as long-term funding. XR headsets like Quest are nonetheless a comparatively early expertise, removed from maturity, and as of 2022 greater than 50% of Actuality Labs spending was on the analysis and growth of AR glasses, a future product line that hasn’t even launched but.
Within the This autumn 2024 earnings name, Susan Li advised traders to anticipate Actuality Labs losses to extend in 2025 as the corporate continues to speculate closely sooner or later potential of the division.
“There are large product bets we’re making and there’s kind of a deep technological set of challenges that we all know that we have to unlock so as to have the ability to carry scalable shopper merchandise to market”, she stated on the time.
Mark Zuckerberg, in the meantime, has repeatedly referred to his “metaverse” ambitions as one thing he expects to carry returns on the size of a long time, slightly than years.
Within the shorter time period, Meta and EssilorLuxottica reportedly plan to launch Oakley Meta Sphaera glasses later this yr, based on Bloomberg, that includes a centered digicam higher fitted to first-person video seize.
Meta additionally plans to launch its personal high-end sensible glasses, not with EssilorLuxottica, that includes a small monocular heads-up show (HUD) and sEMG wristband for finger gesture controls. Current leaks recommend that the product could possibly be referred to as Meta Celeste.
With a reported value north of $1000, Celeste shall be a take a look at of whether or not present expertise is ample to draw demand for high-end sensible glasses or the comparatively low value is inherent to the success of Ray-Ban Meta to date.
Meta HUD Glasses Identify, Design & EMG Wristband Gestures Leak
The title, design, and key finger gestures of Meta’s sensible glasses with a HUD and neural wristband, anticipated to launch in October, have leaked.
Neither of those merchandise will arrive in time for Q3, although the Oakley Meta HSTN glasses will.
We’ll maintain an in depth eye on Meta’s monetary outcomes subsequent quarter for any signal of a reversal of the Quest gross sales decline, although there’s at the moment no motive to imagine this can occur.
