According to Techmeme, Meta’s revenue hit $201 billion, up 22% year-over-year, with a staggering 98% of that coming from advertising across its family of apps. This growth is driven by AI-powered ad tools and increased user time spent, particularly on vertical video. Reels alone reached a $50 billion annual run rate back in October, fueled by over 2 billion advertisers using Meta’s AI to generate video ads. Analyst Gene Munster highlighted that Meta’s vertical video ecosystem now monetizes time as effectively as Netflix, and in the US, it actually enjoys a higher Revenue Per Thousand Hours. In other news, crypto exchange Bybit plans to offer banking services via “MyBank” accounts for holding USD and other currencies, targeting a February launch pending approvals.
The Attention Factory
Here’s the thing: these numbers are absolutely wild. Meta isn’t just a social network anymore; it’s a hyper-efficient attention-harvesting and monetization engine. The fact that Reels is already a $50B business is mind-blowing when you consider how recently it was seen as a desperate catch-up play to TikTok. But the real story is in that Revenue Per Thousand Hours metric. Think about it. Netflix has to spend billions on content to get your hours. Meta’s users create the content for free, and its AI tools help advertisers exploit that attention. It’s a brutally effective model.
AI’s Quiet Role
So how did they pull this off? It’s not just about putting short videos in front of people. The linchpin is the AI. Over 2 billion advertisers using AI tools to make ads? That’s the stat that changes everything. Basically, Meta has lowered the friction for ad creation to almost zero. You don’t need a production studio; you need a product and a few clicks. The AI handles the creative heavy lifting, targeting, and placement. This floods the system with more ads, optimizes them in real-time, and keeps the revenue flywheel spinning faster and faster. It’s a silent, backend revolution that prints money.
The Zuckerberg Shrug
And then you have the cultural side of this tech juggernaut. The source also included that perfect exchange where a reporter asks Mark Zuckerberg for “more granular detail” on Meta’s AI Lab, and the response is just “No ❤️”. It’s a hilarious but telling moment. The company is so confident in its execution—raking in hundreds of billions from its current AI applications—that it feels zero pressure to divulge its R&D roadmap. Why would they? The proof is in the financials. They’re winning the game they’re playing right now.
Beyond The Feed
But what’s next? When you monetize this well, the question becomes where to deploy all that capital. The Bybit news, while separate, points to a broader trend of tech platforms converging on financial services. Meta’s not there yet, but you have to wonder. With this kind of cash flow, they can afford to bet big on the next thing—whether it’s the metaverse, advanced AI, or something else entirely. The risk, of course, is regulatory. This level of dominance in attention and advertising doesn’t go unnoticed. For now, though, the numbers speak for themselves. They’ve built a machine that turns your scroll time into gold more efficiently than almost anyone else.
