Despite operating losses for its Reality Labs division reaching their peak in 2022, Meta's founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg claims the company has no intentions to adjust its long-term metaverse strategy.

Zuckerberg was unwavering in the company's metaverse plan during an earnings call on Feb. 1.

"None of the signals that I've seen so far suggest that we should shift the Reality Labs strategy long term," the Meta CEO said.

According to Meta's earnings, Reality Labs lost $13.7 billion in 2022, the greatest annual loss ever recorded for its metaverse-building subsidiary.

The fourth quarter was especially costly, with the division losing about $4.3 billion, the division's greatest quarterly loss since financials for the business were originally reported.

Following the October release of its Quest Pro Virtual Reality (VR) headset, Zuckerberg stated that the business would offer another "next generation consumer headset" later in 2023.

Susan Li, Meta's chief financial officer, also doubled down on the Reality Labs division, confirming Zuckerberg's comments from a Q3 earnings call that losses will escalate in 2023.

"We still expect our full-year Reality Labs losses to increase in 2023, and we're gonna continue to invest meaningfully in this area given the significant long-term opportunities that we see," she said.

Some investors are asking Meta to scale back its investment due to the company's large wager on its virtual world. Brad Gerstner, the founder of the digital investment firm Altimeter Capital and a shareholder in Meta, wrote an open letter to Zuckerberg and the board of directors.

Gerstner claimed that the company's "investment in an unknown future is super-sized and terrifying" and that it might take ten years before its metaverse begins to turn a profit. He suggested that the company concentrate on an artificial intelligence offering because it has the potential to improve the company's performance.

Some are skeptical about the metaverse's future under Zuckerberg's hands. In April, Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen stated that the company's virtual world will repeat "all the harms of Facebook" if it does not commit to openness.

Meta's fourth-quarter revenue was $32.1 billion, above Wall Street projections.

Meta's stock price jumped after the bell due to higher-than-expected revenue statistics, rising roughly 19.5% in after-hours trading at the time of writing, according to Yahoo Finance.