Meta Platforms' (NASDAQ: META) metaverse is going in reverse. The Facebook parent issued a stinker of an earnings report Wednesday, missing expectations on nearly every key metric and offering disappointing guidance.

Meta stock plunged on the third-quarter results, falling 20% in after-hours trading, and it's clear why. Overall, the results show a company whose once-dominant advertising business is fading, while it pursues what increasingly looks like a boondoggle in the metaverse. Revenue from Reality Labs, its metaverse-focused division, plunged in the quarter, and the company said losses in the segment would significantly widen next year. 

Revenue from Reality Labs fell 51% to $285 million, which was the company's lowest revenue from the metaverse business in at least eight quarters. Reality Labs also reported an operating loss of $3.7 billion in the quarter, its biggest quarterly loss ever in the segment. Through the first three quarters of the year, the division has lost $9.4 billion.

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Source Fool.com