Facebook Inc. (FB)’s market value exceeded $200 billion (RM638.2 billion) to put it among the world’s biggest corporations, as investors bet on the company to capitalize on the future of mobile advertising.
Facebook shares rose 0.8 percent to $77.89 at yesterday’s close in New York, valuing the company at $201.6 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That made it the 22nd-largest company in the world, behind Verizon Communications Inc. and ahead of Toyota Motor Corp.
The stock has jumped 9.3 percent since July 23, compared with a 0.7 percent increase in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, after Facebook reported a 61 percent increase in second-quarter sales to $2.91 billion. Mobile promotions accounted for 62 percent of ad sales, up from 59 percent in the prior period.
The gains are a far cry from Facebook’s May 2012 initial public offering, when a lack of mobile revenue led to a plunge in its stock. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, the world’s 13th-richest person according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has made ads on smartphones and tablets Facebook’s core business and is building on that foundation with a mobile network to spread the company’s ads across the Web and wireless devices.
“This latest rally stems from their last earnings announcement, when they reported higher demand and sales numbers for their mobile ads,” said Jeffrey Sica, who oversees more than $1.5 billion in assets as president of Sica Wealth Management, in an e-mail. “If they can continue to grow their mobile ads, they will have a sustainable demand for their stock.”
Zuckerberg’s Wealth
The stock’s rise has boosted Zuckerberg’s wealth to $34.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The CEO, 30, who co-founded Facebook in 2004, owns shares that give him 61.6 percent of the voting power in the company, according to a March regulatory filing.
Facebook shares had already jumped 81 percent in the 12 months through Sept. 5, compared with a 21 percent increase for the S&P 500. The social network’s market capitalization exceeds technology stalwarts like International Business Machines Corp. and Oracle Corp., though its sales, estimated at $12.2 billion this year, are a fraction of those at the more established companies. Investors are betting on growth, with 43 of 53 analysts recommending buying the stock, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Better Promotions
Facebook’s performance last quarter was spurred by brands and marketers paying higher prices for better-quality promotions, Chief Financial Officer David Wehner said in July. The average ad price more than doubled from a year ago, even as ad impressions declined 25 percent over the same period.
Facebook accounted for 5.8 percent of worldwide digital ad revenue in 2013, up from 4.1 percent in 2012, according to EMarketer Inc. Digital ad spending worldwide rose 14.8 percent to $120 billion last year and is projected to reach $140 billion this year.
To capitalize on these trends, Facebook has been building its arsenal of advertising services. Apart from rolling out a video-ad product to compete for television budgets and a network for distributing ads on other developers’ apps, Facebook agreed this year to acquire LiveRail, a startup that would help serve video promotions on the Web beyond the social network.
Privacy Critics
Last month, Facebook introduced a tool that lets advertisers know when a promotion was first viewed and when it led to a purchase by tracking users between their electronic devices. Such services have drawn criticism from privacy advocates, representing a potential roadblock to the company’s growth.
As membership growth in the U.S. slows, Facebook is looking outside North America to add users, with emerging markets the most dependent on mobile phones. North American users increased 7 percent to 152 million in June from a year earlier, while Asian users increased 26 percent to 228 million, according to a company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that same month. Facebook yesterday said that it has 100 million monthly active users in Africa, more than 80 percent of them on mobile phones.
Zuckerberg has also been making multibillion-dollar acquisitions to diversify the company. Facebook in February said it would pay about $19 billion for messaging app WhatsApp Inc. In July, the company completed the purchase of Oculus VR Inc. for about $2 billion. Oculus makes a virtual-reality headset that Zuckerberg has said will be a major communication device after mobile phones.
Bloomberg
Tue Sep 09 2014
Facebook in February said it would pay about $19 billion for messaging app WhatsApp Inc.
Wanita Palestin mengamuk di WTKL mohon maaf, tertekan fikir anak di Gaza
Aminah berkata, perbuatan di luar kawalan itu berlaku disebabkan rasa tertekan memikirkan keadaaan anaknya yang masih berada di Gaza.
Mangsa banjir di Perak terus meningkat, Selangor menurun
Jumlah mangsa banjir yang ditempatkan di PPS di Perak terus meningkat pagi ini manakala jumlah mangsa di Selangor menunjukkan penurunan.
Letupan baharu menggegarkan Beirut
Memetik laporan Associated Press, rejim Zionis turut menyerang kem pelarian Palestin jauh di utara buat kali pertama ketika ia menyasarkan kedua-dua pejuang Hezbollah dan Hamas.
Pelabur makin yakin, Malaysia disaran tingkatkan keperluan RE
Keperluan tenaga boleh baharu (RE) di negara ini semakin meningkat seiring keyakinan pelabur asing khususnya untuk mewujudkan pusat data, kata Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
Dua minggu hilang, nasib Orang Asli Zuzina masih misteri
Pelbagai pihak masih mencari wanita orang Asli Zuzina Abine yang hilang selepas keluar rumah sejak 20 September lalu.
Ringgit dijangka berbanding dolar AS minggu depan
Ringgit dijangka kekal pada paras 4.21 hingga 4.22 berbanding dolar AS minggu depan, tetapi dengan kecenderungan meningkat terhadap dolar AS selepas data senarai gaji bukan ladang (NFP) Amerika Syarikat (AS) bagi September meningkat mendadak kepada 254,000 pekerjaan.
[TERKINI] Enam rakyat Malaysia selamat tiba dari Lubnan pagi ini
Kementerian Luar Negeri mengesahkan seramai enam orang rakyat Malaysia daripada sebuah keluarga selamat tiba di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA) dari Lubnan pada pagi ini (6 Oktober 2024).
Konvoi motosikal Seru For Gaza, cerminan sokongan sesama saudara
Liputan Wartawan Astro AWANI, Faida Rahim di acara konvoi motosikal Seru For Gaza di Cafe Rosco sebagai cerminan sokongan kepada saudara sesama Islam di Gaza, yang sudah setahun diperangi keganasan Israel.
Kenanga jangka OPR stabil 3.0 peratus pada 2025
Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd menjangka Kadar Dasar Semalaman (OPR) kekal stabil pada 3.0 peratus sepanjang 2025.
88 badan pensijilan halal luar negara dapat pengiktirafan JAKIM
Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) telah memberikan pengiktirafan kepada 88 badan pensijilan halal luar negara setakat Mei tahun ini.
Imigresen serbu pusat karaoke, 39 GRO dan pelanggan ditahan
JIM Perak menyerbu empat premis pusat hiburan karaoke yang menawarkan GRO warga Myanmar dengan bayaran antara RM450 hingga RM600 di sekitar bandar raya ini, malam tadi.
Aplikasi Facebook dikemas kini untuk menarik pengguna lebih muda
Ciri terbaharu ini sedang diuji di Amerika Syarikat dan Kanada.
Hina Agong: Iswardy Morni diperintah bela diri
Mahkamah Sesyen memerintahkan seorang aktivis membela diri atas pertuduhan mengeluarkan kenyataan menerusi laman sosial Facebook miliknya yang berbaur hasutan dan menghina Agong.
Sultan Selangor berkenan terima menghadap Tunku Mahkota Ismail, bincang pelbagai isu
Sultan Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah berkenan menerima menghadap Pemangku Sultan Johor Tunku Mahkota Ismail di Istana Selangor di Kuala Lumpur pada Selasa lepas.
Arahan NADMA No.1 jadi panduan utama pengurusan bencana - Ahmad Zahid
Arahan Agensi Pengurusan Bencana Negara (NADMA) No. 1 akan menjadi panduan utama dalam pengurusan bencana bagi mengurangkan risiko dan impak bencana di negara ini.
Kontraktor rugi lebih RM600,000 ditipu sindiket pelaburan tidak wujud
Seorang kontraktor terpaksa berputih mata apabila kerugian RM688,000 selepas terpedaya dengan sindiket pelaburan saham tidak wujud.
PRK Mahkota: Formula terbaik kerjasama BN-PH menang PRU16
Keputusan yang diperolehi semalam menjadi petanda baik kepada parti-parti komponen dalam Kerajaan Perpaduan untuk memupuk kerjasama yang lebih erat.
Belanjawan 2025 lebih gah, saksama - PM Anwar
Belanjawan 2025 yang dijadual dibentangkan pada 18 Oktober ini disifatkan sebagai lebih gah dan saksama.
GISB: 34 individu selesai reman akan ditangkap semula mengikut SOSMA - KPN
Seramai 34 individu yang dikaitkan dengan GISB dan telah tamat menjalani tempoh reman akan ditangkap semula di bawah Akta SOSMA.
Pesara rugi RM1.24 juta terperdaya pelaburan saham pra-IPO
Seorang pesara kerajaan kerugian RM1.24 juta selepas mendakwa terperdaya dengan pelaburan saham pratawaran awam permulaan (IPO), pada awal Jun lepas.