Facebook invests billions in metaverse efforts as ad business slows

FILE PHOTO: 3D-printed Facebook logo is seen placed on a keyboard in this illustration taken March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

(Reuters) -Facebook Inc said on Monday it will start publishing the financial results of its augmented and virtual reality labs as a separate unit, where it is investing billions in its ambitions to build the "metaverse" and as it reported that its main advertising business faces "significant uncertainty."

Facebook, which reported third-quarter profit up 17%, warned that Apple Inc's new privacy changes would weigh on its digital business in the current quarter. The social media company reported quarterly revenue below market expectations, which Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told analysts was due to the iOS changes.