SouthAmerica: Wow, I had no idea that a few pictures of my family and friends were so valuable, and most of this people are scattered not only around here in the US, but also in Brazil, in various cities and various states in Brazil.
I joined on November 2007 – by the time of the Facebook IPO becomes a reality I have been a member of Facebook for 4 and ˝ years.
As I mentioned on another posting on this thread I joined Facebook on November 21, 2007, and since that time I got connected to 237 people - the number of my current friends on Facebook.
From the 237 people about 135 are family and friends, another 80 people are famous authors, economists, Brazilian and American politicians, and Wall Street television commentators. And another 22 people contacted me over time because they wanted to connect to me on Facebook.
I also turned down a large number of people over the years who wanted to be my friend on Facebook.
I have multiple Facebook accounts, and I know other people who also have multiple FB accounts that are used for different purposes.
I never paid any attention to any adds that they show on Facebook, and I also never played any games at Zynga.
I have seen on FB hundreds of pictures over the years of relatives and friends at all kinds of family gatherings, for all kinds of occasions. And it is a pleasure to keep in touch with family and friends in that way, and some of this people I have not seen in person in years.
But I noticed on my circle of family and friends that people don't check their FB wall as often than you do when you first start using Facebook. I also spend a lot less time reading the postings on Facebook.
I had asked some of the young people of my family if they played Zynga games, and I was told that mostly new members of Facebook play these games until they get bored and stop playing it.
A Facebook valuation around US$ 96 billion dollars in market cap is insane to me.
But again, a Facebook valuation in market cap around US$ 10 billion dollars I still can't see how one can justify such a valuation using common sense.
Anyway, Mark Zuckerberg is a lucky man, since he can take advantage of the thousands of fools and suckers that get screwed by Wall Street, and all these fools are ready to give away their hard earned money for a Fairy Tale.
Thanks to these fools and suckers the Wall Street insiders can unload and cash out, and take all these fools for a ride once again......
Welcome to La La Land.....
*****
How Much Is Facebook Really Worth? - May 3, 2012
MarketWatch's Dan Gallagher dissects how much Facebook is worth, after the social-networking titan priced its initial public offering.
Facebook Inc. (FB), the world’s most popular social-networking site, is seeking as much as $11.8 billion in its initial public offering, the largest on record for an Internet company.
About 337.4 million shares are being sold at $28 to $35 each, according to a regulatory filing from Menlo Park, California-based Facebook. That compares with the 2.92 billion euro ($2.8 billion) IPO for German Internet company T-Online International AG in 2000, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Founded in 2004 and led by 27-year-old Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook has amassed more than 900 million users and reported a 24-fold increase in sales over the past four years. The company’s popularity as a tool for staying connected online will spur demand for the stock, even as some investors steer clear of a valuation they deem too high, said Francis Gaskins, president of researcher IPOdesktop.com.
“Some people will buy Facebook stock no matter what -- they’ll just buy it,” said Gaskins, who is based in Marina Del Rey, California. “There’s going to be an initial push of enthusiasm and money, but ultimately, in a year or so, it will come down to valuation metrics. It has to.”
The company was considering an IPO valuation of as high as $100 billion, people with knowledge of the matter have said. At that amount, Facebook would have a market capitalization about half as high as Google’s -- even though it has one-10th the sales.
Offering’s Origins
Facebook is offering 180 million of the shares, while existing owners such as Accel Partners and Digital Sky Technologies are offering 157.4 million shares, according to the filing. Zuckerberg is offering 30.2 million of his 533.8 million of shares in the sale. The majority of his net proceeds will be used to pay taxes associated with exercising a stock option.
Facebook filed for the IPO Feb. 1, using a placeholder amount of $5 billion. Zuckerberg, a co-founder, is the company’s top holder, filings show. Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are leading Facebook’s IPO. The shares will be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol FB.
The initial share sale would dwarf the 2004 IPO of Google, Facebook’s biggest competitor for online ads and the world’s most valuable internet company. Google’s offering, the same year Zuckerberg helped found Facebook, raised $1.9 billion and valued the company then at about $23 billion.
...Facebook’s revenue surged 88 percent last year to $3.71 billion, with online advertising accounting for almost all of it.
*****
Bloomberg Businessweek – May 3, 2012
“Facebook Valuing Itself at Up to $96 Billion in IPO”
Facebook Inc. (FB), the world’s most popular social-networking site, is valuing itself at as much as $96 billion in an initial public offering, the largest on record for an Internet company.
...Offering’s Origins
Facebook is offering 180 million shares, while existing owners such as Accel Partners and Digital Sky Technologies are offering 157.4 million, according to the filing. Zuckerberg is offering 30.2 million of his 533.8 million shares. The majority of his net proceeds will be used to pay taxes associated with exercising a stock option.
Zuckerberg may control about 57 percent of the voting power of Facebook’s outstanding capital stock after the offering, according to the filing. Sandberg, who isn’t selling in the offering, holds 1.9 million shares.
Facebook will have 2.14 billion Class A and B common shares outstanding following the IPO, worth about $75 billion at the top end of the price range. Including restricted stock units, options and common stock to be issued following the purchase of Instagram Inc., the shares outstanding would total 2.74 billion, implying a market value of $96 billion at the high end.
Facebook’s Float
Facebook isn’t pursuing the so-called “low-float” strategy employed by some Internet companies to boost initial demand for their stock. The company is making 16 percent of its class A and class B common stock public in the sale, a higher proportion than Internet peers Groupon Inc., LinkedIn Corp. and Pandora Media Inc. sold in their IPOs, Bloomberg data show. Taking into account other shares, options and restricted stock units that may be added, the float would be about 12 percent.
On average, the 28 Internet companies that have completed U.S. IPOs since the beginning of 2011 have floated 17 percent of their shares, Bloomberg data show. In a typical initial offer, investors receive shares worth closer to 20 percent of the company, according to Paul Deninger, a senior managing director at New York-based investment bank Evercore Partners Inc.
Keiser Report: How bankers stole Labor Day – May 1, 2012
In this episode, Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert discuss the bull market in discontent, MF Global clients begging JP Morgan for their money back, "Zynga insiders dumping shares" in an 'innovative' manner and Max does a mean impersonation of Jamie 'Pick a pocket or two' Dimon.
SouthAmerica: If you buy Facebook stock in the coming IPO.
Here is what you are buying:
A lot of "HYPE".
Please don't feel bad if you lose money by buying the Facebook stock, it is a good experience for you...besides companies such as "Goldman Sachs the Pillage People" are counting with suckers like yourself for them to cash out.
Thanks to suckers and fools like yourself is what keeps the stock market bubble going another day.
Just remember the Facebook IPO is at the point where the internet stock bubble blows up - you are among those people who bought the stock right before the bubble burst, and you lost your shirt.
Next time instead of buying into hype, you should do your homework and buy something with a real value and substance.
What's wrong with hype? As long as you know that this is just hype AND your timing is right, you can make money. Hell, most internet stocks are hype, and lots of people made lots of money with them. Some people rode the NFLX hype just fine last year. Just keep in mind, timing is crucial...
What's wrong with hype? As long as you know that this is just hype AND your timing is right, you can make money. Hell, most internet stocks are hype, and lots of people made lots of money with them. Some people rode the NFLX hype just fine last year. Just keep in mind, timing is crucial...
If you don't like the game, don't play it....
May 15, 2012
SouthAmerica: As long as you're aware of that this is not an investment - it is just a game to see if you can make a quick buck.
As long as there's a bigger sucker than you, then you will be fine, and you will make some quick money.
The price of the "Facebook IPO" it would be hard to justify at a market cap of US$ 10 billion dollars - at a market cap between US$ 93 to US$ 103 billion dollars this IPO it's completely insane, and investors shouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole.
The price of the "Facebook IPO" it would be hard to justify at a market cap of US$ 10 billion dollars - at a market cap between US$ 93 to US$ 103 billion dollars this IPO it's completely insane, and investors shouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole.
I wouldnt buy it, but why do you think it would be hard to justify a $10 billion market cap? Facebook makes $5 billion dollars per year. Which makes its price only 20 times earnings.
By comparison, Visa makes $9 billion per year and has a $78 billion dollar market cap. I think Facebook has a fair value of around $50 billion right now, but I still wouldnt buy it at that market cap because of the risk factor. AOL was worth almost 200 billion 12 years ago. Today its worth 2.5 billion, just a little over 1% of its old value. Same thing could happen to FB.
But I think many of you do not understand FBs marketing capability. FB is the equivalent of owning the only TV station in the world that airs the superbowl, world cup, and all boxing ppv events. The advertising paid to reach these audiences is staggering, and its as if the superbowl, world cup and world heavyweight title is being fought every single day. Now sure that could change in the future, but right now FB has all the customers.
So it does have more value than most of you think, but the risk that FB might not be top dog in 5 years makes this investment not worth it.
