Technologies

Meta earnings disappoint as Facebook’s parent pushes into the metaverse

For the first time, the social media giant breaks out the performance of its AR and VR business. Its earnings in the fourth quarter, though, were weaker than expected.

Facebook parent Meta said Wednesday that the augmented and virtual reality business at the heart of its metaverse ambitions generated $877 million in revenue, but disappointing fourth-quarter earnings underscored how much the company relies on its social media businesses.

The details mark the first time the company has broken out the performance of its AR and VR unit, which is known as Reality Labs. The unprofitable unit — it lost $3.3 billion in the quarter — oversees the Oculus headset that will help anchor the company’s push into the metaverse.

Last year, Facebook rebranded itself as Meta, a change that fueled hype around the online spaces where people will be able to work and socialize as digital avatars. However, Meta remains reliant on digital advertising on the Facebook social network and its photo service Instagram even as it barrels toward the metaverse.

«While we expect Meta to ramp up testing ads and commerce within its metaverse offerings this year, those efforts will be highly experimental and not likely to drive much revenue in the near term,» said Debra Aho Williamson, a principal analyst at Insider Intelligence, which was formerly eMarketer.

In the fourth quarter, Meta posted revenue of $33.7 billion, above analyst expectations of $33.4 billion. But it earned $3.67 per share, falling short of the $3.84 per share projected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Meta’s stock plunged more than 20% in after-hours trading. The company’s stock ticker is expected to change to META from FB in the first half of the year.

Like other tech companies, Meta has warned that privacy changes imposed by Apple could make it harder for businesses to measure the effectiveness of their ads on Facebook and Instagram. The company also said it expected «headwinds» caused by inflation and supply chain disruptions that affect advertiser budgets.

Facebook and Instagram users are also spending more time on the platform’s short-form video product, Reels, which doesn’t generate as much revenue as the company’s News Feed or Stories where people can post content that vanishes in 24 hours. That’s partly because Reels doesn’t include as many ads compared to News Feed or Stories.

«I’m confident that leaning harder into these trends is the right short-term tradeoff to make in order to get long-term gains. We’ve made these types of transitions before with mobile feed and Stories,» Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a call with analysts Wednesday.

On top of that, Facebook is facing more competition from other apps such as short-form video app TikTok. Facebook’s daily active users in the fourth quarter dropped from 1.93 billion to 1.92 billion, with the quarterly drop mainly coming from developing countries.

Though the metaverse concept has been around for years, Meta has been hiring engineers and purchasing VR apps to bolster the creation of its virtual worlds. At Christmas, the Oculus app required to set up the Quest headset topped Apple’s App Store, suggesting that people had purchased the headsets over the holidays as a gift. The social network is also working on augmented reality glasses and, with Ray-Ban, released its first pair of smart glasses to shoot photos and videos.

Meta’s efforts to build more digital realms has been bumpy. The company still faces criticism that it doesn’t do enough to combat misinformation, hate speech and other types of offensive content, problems that will only grow more complex in the metaverse. The US Federal Trade Commission and multiple states, led by New York, are reportedly investigating potential anticompetitive practices by Oculus. This week, Meta shuttered its Diem cryptocurrency project after regulatory pushback.

The challenges haven’t stopped Meta from pushing forward with its futuristic vision of what it thinks will be the successor to the mobile internet.

«If last year was about putting a stake in the ground for where we’re heading, this year is going to be about executing,» Zuckerberg said.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for May 20, #443

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 443 for May 20.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle reminds me that I haven’t had a meal in a fancy restaurant in some time. Maybe it’s time to make a reservation. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Oh, of course!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Elegant eats.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

SITE, FINE, SINE, DINE, PEAS, TEEN, PEER, STEEP, DEER, SEED, SEEN, POET, TREE, NOPE, SEES.

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

SOUP, SALAD, CHEESE, ENTREE, DESSERT, APPETIZERS

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is FINEDINING. To find it, start with the F that’s three letters down on the farthest row to the left, and wind across.

Toughest Strands puzzles

Here are some of the Strands topics I’ve found to be the toughest in recent weeks.

#1: Dated slang, Jan. 21. Maybe you didn’t even use this lingo when it was cool. Toughest word: PHAT.

#2: Thar she blows! Jan.15. I guess marine biologists might ace this one. Toughest word: BALEEN or RIGHT.

#3: Off the hook, Jan. 9. Similar to the Jan. 15 puzzle in that it helps to know a lot about sea creatures. Sorry, Charlie. Toughest word: BIGEYE or SKIPJACK

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for May 24, #713

Hints and answers for Connections for May 24, #713.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections puzzle has a fun variety of categories. The purple one appeals to my English major heart. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Goo-goo.

Green group hint: Not shirts.

Blue group hint: City that never sleeps.

Purple group hint: Acclaimed writers.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Baby gear.

Green group: Kinds of pants minus «s.»

Blue group: New York sports team members.

Purple group: Black women authors.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is baby gear. The four answers are bib, bottle, monitor and stroller.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is kinds of pants minus «s.» The four answers are capri, jean, jogger and slack.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is New York sports team members. The four answers are Jet, Met, Net and Ranger.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is black women authors. The four answers are Butler, Gay, Hooks and Walker.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, May 20

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for May 20.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword is a fun one, and now I’m singing the song from 1-Across in my head. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: «Pink ___ Club» (Chappell Roan hit)
Answer: PONY

5A clue: Instrument that might be made with a comb and wax paper
Answer: KAZOO

6A clue: How bedtime stories are often read
Answer: ALOUD

7A clue: On edge
Answer: TENSE

8A clue: Short Instagram video
Answer: REEL

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Less colorful
Answer: PALER

2D clue: Layer of the upper atmosphere
Answer: OZONE

3D clue: Totally pointless
Answer: NOUSE

4D clue: Hit a high note in a high place, perhaps
Answer: YODEL

5D clue: Kit ___ bar
Answer: KAT

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.