What's going on?

Meta�s stock plummeted after it posted disappointing results late on Wednesday, suggesting investors aren�t exactly convinced by Facebook�s new look.

What does this mean?

Meta makes most of its money by selling its users� attention to advertisers, and it did reliably well on that front: ad revenue ticked up by a better-than-expected 20% compared to the same time in 2020. Likewise, revenue from its Reality Labs segment � where the metaverse magic happens � was up 22%. So far, so good.

Then again, there were fewer eyeballs on its platforms than analysts were expecting: the number of Meta�s monthly active users grew by a weaker-than-expected 9%. Its outlook for this quarter wasn�t what anyone had hoped for either, with Meta warning that inflation and supply shortages would take their toll on advertisers� budgets. That didn�t go down well: its shares initially plunged 22%.

Why should I care?

For markets: New name, same problems.�

Meta�s Reality Labs is growing, sure, but the segment still posted a $3 billion-plus loss last quarter. And Meta hasn�t exactly filled investors with confidence that it can pull off its more ambitious enterprises: the company�s most recent moonshot � a bid to launch its own cryptocurrency � ended with a whimper this week after regulatory pushback drove the company to scrap the plan altogether.

The bigger picture: NFTs FTW.

You�re much more to Meta than just a walking, talking data point it can sell onto advertisers for a quick buck, you know: you�re a walking, talking cash pi�ata too. It emerged late last month that the company�s working on features across Facebook and Instagram that would allow you to mint your own NFTs, and it�s even reportedly discussed a marketplace where you can buy and sell them too. That�s one cash cow the company has left unmilked up to now, which could be udderly short-sighted: investment bank Jefferies thinks the NFT market could double to $80 billion by 2025.