Messaging prints money

Meta's $22 billion bet on WhatsApp is finally paying dividends. A decade after acquiring the messaging giant, Meta's non-ad revenue surged 48% year-on-year in the latest quarter, largely driven by WhatsApp business messaging, where companies pay to chat with customers.

While this revenue stream still pales in comparison to Meta's $40 billion total ad revenue, it's growing twice as fast as the ads business, hinting at untapped potential.

Messaging is Meta's most under-monetised asset, analysts estimate it now contributes only 10% of total revenue. With AI-powered business interactions on the horizon, Zuckerberg sees messaging as a future cash cow.

As users shift from public feeds to DMs, Meta's strategy is to monetize private sharing via click-to-message ads, sponsored chats, and AI-driven e-commerce.