Читать книгу The Facebook IPO Primer (Updated Edition) - Nancy Miller - Страница 2

Introducing the company everyone knows

Facebook --the millennial phenom storming the globe -- needs no introduction. Everywhere you go on the Internet, the Facebook “Like” button winks at you. Want to share your most recent purchase on Amazon with your Facebook friends? Go ahead. Click “Like.” Nothing is too personal. Looking for buddies headed to the next Beyoncé concert? Check out the fan page. Bored? Play a game with your friends halfway around the world. No teenager’s social life is complete without Facebook. Younger kids may well ask someday: Scrabble is a board game, too? Wasn’t it always an app?

And now Facebook is seeking a big thumbs up for its biggest transaction yet: Selling an estimated $5 billion, maybe even $10 billion, of stock to the public, the biggest Internet deal ever. Do you want Facebook in your investment portfolio?

It might be tempting to just go and jump in. But intelligent investors always kick the tires before parting with their hard earned dollars. This is particularly important when it comes to companies that have never sold stock to the public before. What you know about Facebook as a user is important, but it’s not everything. Savvy investors study the company, think about the broader market, and try to put the business in context. Facebook may have the brand recognition of Coke, but until now its financial inner workings were private. No more.

The Facebook IPO Primer is the place where you will find the basic tools you need to analyze Facebook’s business and financial stats. Is it likely to be a space rocket, or will it sputter? Is it the next Google -- maybe bigger -- or is it Myspace? In this ebook you will learn to separate the buzz from the facts.

In Part I, you’ll get a quick overview of the checkered history of high tech companies selling stock to the public for the first time. Part II delves into the core values of Facebook, its leadership, and how it sees itself. Part III will give you five different answers to the key question: How much is Facebook worth? You’ll learn about what is important to financial analysts when they look at a company, and the different ways they choose to interpret the data. If you want to continue your research on Facebook on your own -- or if you just find the story fascinating in its own right -- Part IV will take you to the best links on the web. You’ll find articles, blog posts, graphics, and videos on all things Facebook.

And, by the way, you don’t have to read the book in order. If you’re a numbers person -- or hoping to become one -- go directly to Part III. If you’d like to know about some great flameouts in high-tech history, start at the beginning. There are all kinds of sections in the text that explain how an IPO gets priced, what an IPO “pop” is, and other essential concepts of the market.

When you’re done with the book, please visit my website and take the poll: How much is Facebook worth and what will it be worth a year from now? Just click here.