As per generally accepted accounting principles, Facebook actually lost $743 million, but reports a number that leaves out employee stock awards, options and related expenses. This news came as a relief to some investors, especially after the plunge in its partner, Zynga’s business yesterday. There are some analysts who believe that Facebook’s stock will be rewarded in the future and should be viewed as tomorrow’s stock. Founded in 2004 by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook is now going through the transition from computer to mobile as the company is trying to figure out how to earn revenues from mobiles, gadgets and tablets. There are various analysts who believe that Facebook is full of potential and makes a good investment as the social networking site has almost one billion users and is the most wide-ranging user profile database in existence. The social network site offers great opportunity to collect a big chunk of the global advertising market, which is currently at $500 billion a year. The share of Facebook started out at an IPO of $38. The company’s first earnings report since its rocky initial public offering on May 18 was the second coming that didn’t quite materialize. Investors sent Facebook’s stock to its lowest level ever price this Friday. Shares fell $3.14, or nearly 12 percent, to close at $23.71 after hitting $22.28 in the morning. The previous low was $25.52, reached on June 6. Even when Facebook’s second-quarter results met Wall Street’s expectations, with revenue one-third higher than last year, the company’s stocks took a plunge. The shaky economy and investors’ sharp sensitivity to a stock’s value makes them all want proofs rather than Facebook’s word that it can grow its revenue and make a profit. Facebook, for now, seems to be a tell-me story, whose success or failure will play out in the coming quarters, or even years. The company yet has to show all it can do. Its revenue growth is tipping. The first quarter of this year saw Facebook’s revenue climb up by 44 percent, higher than the 32 percent increase in the second quarter. Following in Google’s footsteps, Facebook offered no financial guidance for the coming quarters, which makes the bet risky for investors. The social networking site also stated its plans to increase the investments in the coming quarters. Whereas analysts believe that higher expenses could mean lower profits. Based in Menlo Park, Calif., Facebook was valued at $104 billion when it went public two months ago, where investors placed a higher value on its stock than other established companies. With its stocks hitting a new low on Friday, Facebook lost as much as 39 percent of its value. It’s now around $66 billion, which is in the same range as American Express. Despite all doubts, various analysts are offering positive view on Facebook who believes that the social networking site will live up to its hype. Out of the ratings of 27 analyst ratings available on FactSet, 15 believe that Facebook’s stocks are ‘Buy’ or equivalent, while just three call it a ‘Sell’. These analysts are known to have long-term views of stocks as compared to many day-to-day investors.
