Bloomberg: Facebook to postpone IPO until 2012
Bloomberg is reporting that social network Facebook will postpone an IPO until 2012. Investors have been speculating that the world’s largest social network — valued at $24.9 billion — would go public sometime in 2011. Bloomberg writes, “Waiting lets Zuckerberg, 26, hone the skills needed to steer a company that issues quarterly results while facing criticism on such matters as user privacy.” Facebook declined to comment, and Zuckerberg himself said his company would offer an IPO, “when it makes sense.” People familiar with the company estimate that the social network would bring in as much as $1.4 billion in sales in 2010 alone. Would any of you jump on the Facebook IPO if given the opportunity?
There is a difference between investing and trading. I would trade the IPO riding the initial public emotion wave. But with every wave, there is a crash/lull which is why I’d trade rather than invest. To invest is to put in money and leave it for the long term.
I see Facebook lasting many years down the road. They are ever more popular in the younger generation which will keep them supplied with fresh users. Even MySpace is still 26th in the world (13th in US) according to Alexa. As more and more devices become portable and social, FB only will make gains. The next FB will still be at least 2 years away if launched any time soon, and mainly it would take some bad misstep by FB to essentially drive users away (probably security or privacy issue).