It seems like just yesterday that a video went viral showing Meta Platforms' (NASDAQ: META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg putting his metaverse ambitions on full display. At the time, the prospects of the metaverse carried some allure, but investors quickly soured on the concept as Meta got a tad overzealous about its new pursuit.

The company invested aggressively in its metaverse-related ambitions, which led to a rise in headcount rise and a big rise in expenses. Even worse was, that by trying to grow too quickly, the company lost focus on its main revenue source: advertising. As its core ad business took a hit and expenses ballooned, the obvious byproduct was shrinking profits. The company eventually responded with a meaningful cost-reduction period driven mainly by layoffs.

The last few quarters contained a lot of bright spots for Meta and the stock rallied, but its Q3 earnings report was somewhat mixed. While its near-term outlook looks cloudy, investors may find that its long-term prospects can weather the impending storm.

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Source Fool.com