About Facebook
Launched on February 4, 2004, Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites in the world. The owner and manager of Facebook is Facebook, Inc. which is a private organization. It was founded by Eduardo Saverin, Mark Zuckerberg, Chris Hughes, and Dustin Moskovitz. It was their concept to look for a mode for schoolmates to link over the Internet. As of 2011, the company employs more than 3,000 people. The firm was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the US. The headquarters are now located in Menlo Park, California. The site is available in different languages.
About Facebook IPO
Facebook is scheduled to launch its IPO or Initial Public Offer in the month of February. The filing and other formalities are going to take place on February 1, 2012 and actual public offering will take place in the month of May 2012. Facebook is planning to raise US$ 10 billion through its IPO. The underwriting will probably be carried out by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. This is going to be the biggest Internet Initial Public Offering that ever took place in the history. The targeted market value of the site is as high as $100 billion. The opening and closing dates of the IPO are yet to be announced. Nevertheless, filings to the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) will be completed within the first few weeks of February. The IPO issue will probably raise the worth of Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, to $20 billion.
Main Highlights of the Facebook IPO
| Particulars | Figures |
|---|
| Filing and Formalities | 02/01/12 |
| Launch Date (estimated) | 2nd quarter '12 |
| Fund Raising (estimated) | US$ 10 Billion |
| Underwriter | Goldman Sachs, Morgan stanley |
| Opening and Closing date | (will be added soon) |
Present statistics about Facebook
As of January 2012, the number of Facebook users has crossed 800 million and it is expected to cross 1,000 million this year. A Compete.com review in January 2009 rated it as the most popular social networking service in terms of global active users every month.
As furnished by Social Media Today, approximately 41.6% of the population in the United States used a Facebook account in April 2010. According to figures provided by Quantcast, in May 2011, the number of monthly unique visitors of Facebook in the US was 138.9 million. According to figures furnished by EMarketer, the revenue from the commercials of Facebook will rise 52% to US$ 5.78 billion in 2012 and is expected to attain US$ 7 billion the next year.
Active user base of Facebook (since the time of its inception)
The table given below will give you a clear idea about the total number of active users of Facebook and their gradual increase:
| Date | Users (in millions) | Monthly growth |
|---|
| August 26, 2008 | 100 | 178.38% |
| April 8, 2009 | 200 | 13.33% |
| September 15, 2009 | 300 | 9.38% |
| 02/05/10 | 400 | 6.99% |
| February 5, 2010 | 500 | 4.52% |
| July 21, 2010 | 600 | 3.57% |
| May 30, 2011
| 700 | 3.45% |
| September 22, 2011
| 800 | 3.73% |
Revenue of Facebook
The table given below will give you a fair idea about the revenue growth of Facebook:
| Year | Revenue (in million dollars) | Growth |
|---|
| 2011 | $4,270.00 | 114.00% |
| 2010 | $2,000.00 | 158.00% |
| 2009 | $775.00 | 177.00% |
| 2008 | $280.00 | 87.00% |
| 2007 | $150` | 188.00% |
| 2006 | $52.00 | - |
In 2011, the company posted revenue of US$ 4.27 billion, which was significantly higher than the last year's revenue at US$2 billion.
The larger portion of the site's revenue is generated through advertising. The only partner of Facebook in the area of banner advertising is Microsoft. As a result, the social networking site offers services and facilities regarding ads that are present in the commercial stock of Microsoft.
Last Updated on 1/31/2012
