NEW YORK, December 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Meta Platforms (META.O) is the story of two companies, united only by their potential to sell advertising and their owner Mark Zuckerberg. As big marketers tighten their pockets in 2023, the social media company, which runs Facebook and Instagram, will cease to be an ATM. This will encourage your founder and boss to rip their pet project, the metaverse, away from the rest of the business.

Meta is expected to bring in about $15 billion in free cash flow in 2022, according to Refinitiv estimates, a 60% decline from 2021, largely due to spending in the virtual universe. But cash flow from Meta operations alone, primarily the unspent business in the metaverse, would represent a 15% return. They are three…