Meta Platforms (META 1.36%) stock is climbing higher Thursday despite a bearish backdrop for the broader market. The company's share price was up 1.1% as of 3 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.37%) was down 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -0.48%) was down 0.6%.
Meta's valuation is moving higher today following recent comments from company officials reaffirming support for virtual-reality (VR) initiatives. The company is playing a leading role in advancing VR, but it's been a costly initiative for the tech giant.
At this year's Game Developers Conference (GDC), Meta's director of games Chris Pruett indicated that his company remained heavily committed to the VR space. Pruett said that Meta had helped fund over 100 virtual-reality and mixed-reality games that shipped last year, and it was funding 200 additional games that were actively being developed. He also said that monthly use of the company's VR headsets had increased 30% annually last year. On the other hand, recent analysis from Counterpoint Research suggests that total global VR headset shipments from all sellers fell 12% last year.
More so than any other tech giant, Meta has been trying to push mass adoption for virtual reality, augmented reality (AR), and the metaverse. The related initiatives have been cost intensive, and the company has shifted its biggest growth bets toward artificial intelligence (AI).
But while some investors have raised concerns about ongoing expenses related to VR initiatives, signs that the company isn't close to giving up its ambitions in the space suggests there's still a real possibility for light at the end of the tunnel. If VR, AR, and the metaverse wind up taking off, Meta's big investments make it likely that the company will be one of the biggest beneficiaries.
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