Facebook parent company Meta on Wednesday forecast December quarter revenue above market expectations, while cautioning investors that it expects operating losses for its Reality Labs division to "increase meaningfully" during the period.
Meta's Reality Labs division is responsible for the company's virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and mixed reality projects, as well as research and development into emerging immersive technologies such as the metaverse.
The unit reported an operating loss of more than $4.4 billion in the third quarter that ended on September 30. It expanded from $3.7 billion operating loss in the same period last year.
The division’s losses are expected to surge further due to its continuing product development efforts and investments to further scale the company's ecosystem, chief financial officer Susan Li said.
Since 2020, Reality Labs unit has recorded an operating loss of more than $58 billion.
The company projects its October-December revenue to be between $45 billion and $48 billion, compared to analysts' estimates of $46.3 billion. Its guidance assumes that fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates will have little to no impact on its year-over-year revenue growth, Ms Li said.
The company also updated its 2024 full-year total expense forecast to a range of $96 billion to $98 billion, down from its prior expectation of $96 billion to $99 billion. The full-year capital expenditures will be in the range of $38 billion and $40 billion, Meta said.
“We continue to expect significant capital expenditures growth in 2025 … we expect a significant acceleration in infrastructure expense growth next year as we recognise higher growth in depreciation and operating expenses of our expanded infrastructure fleet,” Ms Li said.
Meta's shares, which closed at $591.8 on Wednesday, dropped 2.3 per cent to trade at $577.9 a share in after-hours trading.
The stock has gained about 70.9 per cent so far this year and the company had a market value of about $1.5 trillion at close on Wednesday.
Earnings beat expectation
The company reported a 35 per cent annual increase in third-quarter net income to almost $15.7 billion.
Revenue during the July-September period rose 19 per cent to more than $40.5 billion, beating analysts’ expectations of $40.2 billion. Earnings per share stood at $6 against the expectation of $5.2
"Meta is firing on all cylinders and AI is clearly driving growth … not only did Meta exceed expectations for both earnings per share and revenue, but it did so by a wide margin, as the tech giant delivered its most profitable quarter on record,” Jesse Cohen, senior analyst at Investing.com, told The National.
"Meta’s solid quarter adds further evidence to the view that digital advertisers are choosing to spend their budget on the so-called market leaders, such as Facebook and Instagram.”
In the third quarter, advertising impressions across Meta’s family of apps and the average price for an advertisement soared by 7 per cent and 11 per cent year on year, respectively.
Meta’s family of apps includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.
From April, Meta has stopped disclosing Facebook’s daily active users and monthly active users. It is now sharing a figure called “family daily active people”.
It stood at 3.29 billion in the last quarter, a yearly increase of almost 5 per cent.
“We had a good quarter driven by AI progress across our apps and business … we also have strong momentum with Meta AI, Llama adoption and AI-powered glasses,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and chief executive.
The company's advertising revenue contributed nearly 98.2 per cent to overall sales in the third quarter, growing by about 18.5 per cent on an annual basis to more than $39.8 billion.
Revenue from other streams – including the Reality Labs unit – jumped 16.7 per cent on an annual basis to more than $704 million.
Pathaan
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Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
HEADLINE HERE
- I would recommend writing out the text in the body
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- That's about it
RESULT
Leeds United 1 Manchester City 1
Leeds: Rodrigo (59')
Man City: Sterling (17')
Man of the Match: Rodrigo Moreno (Leeds)
Schedule
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Friday’s fixture
6.15pm: Al Wahda v Hatta
6.15pm: Al Dhafra v Ajman
9pm: Al Wasl v Baniyas
9pm: Fujairah v Sharjah
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More from Armen Sarkissian
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 435hp at 5,900rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,800-5,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Price: from Dh498,542
On sale: now
Results
1. New Zealand Daniel Meech – Fine (name of horse), Richard Gardner – Calisto, Bruce Goodin - Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh – Check In. Team total First round: 200.22; Second round: 201.75 – Penalties 12 (jump-off 40.16 seconds) Prize €64,000
2. Ireland Cameron Hanley – Aiyetoro, David Simpson – Keoki, Paul Kennedy – Cartown Danger Mouse, Shane Breen – Laith. Team total 200.25/202.84 – P 12 (jump-off 51.79 – P17) Prize €40,000
3. Italy Luca Maria Moneta – Connery, Luca Coata – Crandessa, Simone Coata – Dardonge, Natale Chiaudani – Almero. Team total 130.82/198.-4 – P20. Prize €32,000
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
ASSASSIN'S%20CREED%20MIRAGE
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A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
What is safeguarding?
“Safeguarding, not just in sport, but in all walks of life, is making sure that policies are put in place that make sure your child is safe; when they attend a football club, a tennis club, that there are welfare officers at clubs who are qualified to a standard to make sure your child is safe in that environment,” Derek Bell explains.
More on animal trafficking
Nancy 9 (Hassa Beek)
Nancy Ajram
(In2Musica)
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Intercontinental Cup
Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19
Table 1 Ireland, 89 points; 2 Afghanistan, 81; 3 Netherlands, 52; 4 Papua New Guinea, 40; 5 Hong Kong, 39; 6 Scotland, 37; 7 UAE, 27; 8 Namibia, 27
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Company%20profile
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The specs: 2018 Jaguar F-Type Convertible
Price, base / as tested: Dh283,080 / Dh318,465
Engine: 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 295hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.2L / 100km
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
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Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
More on animal trafficking
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE and Russia in numbers
UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years
Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018
More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE
Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE
The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023
