Meta conference call: The future is "AI, AI, or AI"!
Meta stated in the conference call that Llama 4 may be launched next year, with AI significantly driving the growth of the advertising business. By the end of the year, Meta AI may become the "most commonly used artificial intelligence assistant," but profitability will still take several years
Meta released impressive results overnight, with Q2 revenue and profit exceeding expectations. In the subsequent earnings call, the company showcased its ambitious AI strategy.
During the earnings call, CFO Susan Li reiterated to investors that the financial returns from recent artificial intelligence investments will "manifest over a longer period of time."
CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained that the company is investing billions of dollars in AI infrastructure. While these investments may not yield returns in the short term, early positioning is crucial.
Furthermore, Meta also mentioned the new developments of Llama 4, which is driving the AI-powered advertising business...
Llama 4 Expected to Launch Next Year
Zuckerberg stated that Meta has begun training Llama 4 and plans to launch it next year, aiming to become the "most advanced model" in the industry. It is worth noting that the computational power required to train the Llama 4 model will be 10 times that of Llama 3.1.
The largest version of Llama 3.1 has 405 billion parameters and was trained using over 16,000 high-priced H100 GPUs from NVIDIA. Based on the cost of NVIDIA chips, it can be inferred that the cost reaches hundreds of millions of dollars.
Meta AI Expected to Become "Most Widely Used AI Assistant" by Year-End, But Profitability May Take Several Years
Meta also mentioned the progress made by Meta AI, the AI assistant integrated into Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Zuckerberg stated that Meta AI can rival products supported by Microsoft's OpenAI and Google, and is expected to achieve its goal of becoming the "most widely used AI assistant" by the end of this year.
However, it may take some time for Meta AI to become profitable. Zuckerberg told analysts that profitability is not expected to be achieved "for several years."
Additionally, Threads reached 175 million monthly active users in early July, on track to reach 200 million soon, while Facebook's usage among young people is once again on the rise.
AI Empowering Advertising Business
Meta stated that AI investments will significantly boost its advertising business. AI-optimized ad placements not only enhance ad effectiveness, but also improve engagement and enhance user experience through content recommendation engines.
In the second quarter, Meta's advertising revenue reached $38.33 billion, surpassing analyst expectations. The average price per ad was higher, and the number of ad impressions on its applications increased.
Meta mentioned that its investments in AI will benefit advertisers and their advertising businesses, which are Meta's core source of revenue.
Full Bet on the Future of AI
CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that the company is investing billions of dollars in AI infrastructure, including purchasing NVIDIA chips. While these investments may not yield returns in the short term, Zuckerberg believes that early preparation is crucial. "Rather than risking falling behind in infrastructure development, it is better to prepare in advance."CFO Susan Li emphasized that the financial returns on AI investments will be realized over a longer period. The company has raised the lower end of its full-year capital expenditure forecast to $37 billion and expects capital expenditures to increase significantly by 2025.
Although AI investments may impact profits in the short term, investors remain optimistic about Meta's prospects. After the financial report meeting, Meta's stock price surged by 7% in after-hours trading, reaching $508.
