Meta is the winner in smart glasses. How big the business can get.

Meta’s Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses seem to be on the rise. More than seven million pairs were sold in 2025, according to eyewear manufacturing partner EssilorLuxottica. This means sales of the two million pairs sold in 2023 and 2024 have more than tripled.

Demand for the latest model was so strong in the U.S. that companies said they would have to pause its rollout in other countries in January.

The product dominates a growing industry. Meta had a 73% share of global smart glasses sales in the first half of 2025, according to Counterpoint Research, which expects the market to grow at a CAGR of over 60% through 2029.

These are impressive numbers, but the Meta needs more. Revenue from the Reality Labs segment, which houses smart glasses operations, increased to $2.21 billion in 2025 from $2.15 billion in 2024. That’s not the kind of growth that would make an impact for a company that generates more than $200 billion in annual revenue, but the company doesn’t detail how much of Reality Labs’ revenue comes from smart glasses as opposed to other products.

Meanwhile, Reality Labs’ operating losses reached $19.19 billion last year, and Meta expects a similar loss from the division this year. While this represents many different projects, there is pressure for the department to start covering its own expenses.

Smart glasses are the best hope to stop these losses. According to Bloomberg, based on people knowledgeable about the subject, Meta and EssilorLuxottica plan to double the production capacity of smart glasses this year to approximately 20 million, or even triple it to 30 million if demand continues. Meta did not respond to Barron’s request for comment.

These would be huge numbers. IDC estimates that sales of extended reality devices, including smart glasses and headsets, will reach 14.5 million units in total in 2025. The research firm predicts that a total of approximately 16 million pairs of smart glasses will be sold in 2026, and this number will increase to around 23 million in 2027.

In other words, Meta aims to both maintain its dominance in the smart glasses market and grow well above the market. And it will have to do so as it faces increasing competition. Alphabet’s Google recently confirmed that it will re-enter the market this year. The search firm is working with fashion house Kering and eyewear company Warby Parker to develop its own AI-powered glasses.

Meanwhile, Snapchat’s parent company, Snap, will be responsible for its own augmented reality glasses on January 28th, along with Specs Inc. announced that it has established a subsidiary called. While Snap has already released multiple versions of the hardware, this move opens up the potential for outside investors and growth as a separate brand.

Other important competitors come from China. While Alibaba, like Xiaomi, launched its own smart glasses last year, there are also many smaller start-ups around the world.

Meta has his sights set on the prize, but will fight to maintain his place at the top.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com