Perhaps the biggest tech story of 2012 was the highly anticipated event of Facebook going public at a whopping, previously unheard valuation of $100 billion.
The IPO driven by gung-ho analysts and rabid media ensured that the stock was already oversubscribed forcing Facebook to issue more shares. Not since the Google IPO debut had NASDAQ witnessed such madness.
But the IPO was a damp squib from day one, with the stock tanking on debut and in the process leaving thousands of investors with a lighter wallet. For the first time, the company that could do no wrong looked like a loser. Analysts had concerns about Facebook’s flat audience growth in the US, its ability to keep revenues growing at a fast clip and questions around how it will monetize mobile.
After weeks of the stock dipping and going below the $20 mark, it has picked up somewhat, buoyed by better mobile monetization and Zuckerberg assurance that Facebook will explore new revenue streams. The company’s latest milestone was to breach the 1 billion active user mark.
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