At long last, Facebook is scheduled to go public today, moving from a dorm room pipedream to a billion-dollar, publicly traded company in less than 10 years.
For days, there has been speculation about where Facebook will price its shares; yesterday, reports said it will debut at $38, making it the largest tech IPO ever.
This week there were the predictable "will Facebook flop?" discussions, which reached a fever pitch after General Motors decided to drop its $10 million ad campaign from the social network. How can Facebook survive without major ad partners? With 901 million members, can it really get any bigger and make investors more money? Why won't Zuckerberg take off that hoodie?!
For many, the most interesting part of the IPO were the tidbits revealed in SEC filings. Zuckerberg is worth HOW much? All those mobile users and no revenue?
For a look back at the IPO journey, take a look at PCMag's coverage from the past few months, and stay tuned as Facebook makes its official Wall Street debut.
- Facebook Files for $5 Billion IPO: Facebook officially filed an initial public offering (IPO), raising $5 billion, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Facebook's IPO by the Numbers: Valued at $75B to $100B, looking to raise $10B? What do Facebook's initial public offering numbers really mean? Let's compare.
- What Will Facebook Do With $10 Billion?: What will Facebook do with $100 billion? According to an analyst report, it can revamp revenue streams in a bid for "global domination."
- What Does a Facebook IPO Mean for Users?: The very public social network Facebook is really going public. What does that mean to Facebook users?
- Facebook: Steady Growth, Big Profits: Facebook's financials paint the picture of a mature company with an established track record of generating ever-increasing revenue and profits.
- What Facebook Fears: What keeps Facebook up at night? At this point, you - yes, you - as well as others who are reading this story on a smartphone.
- Facebook: 425 Million Mobile Users ... And No Money?: Facebook had more than 425 million monthly active users during December 2011, but it's not making any money from those users yet.
- How Much Are Facebook Execs Making? (Hint: More Than You): Mark Zuckerberg took home about $1.5 million last year, but that's pocket change compared to stock that could make him worth about $28.4 billion.
- Facebook Names Google, Twitter, Microsoft as Major Rivals: Facebook entered the big leagues with its $5 billion IPO, and listed some other tech heavyweights as its major competitors: Google, Microsoft, and Twitter.
- Zynga's Virtual Cash a Big Part of Facebook's Bottom Line: The social games developer contributed 12 percent of Facebook's 2011 revenue according to Facebook's IPO filing.
- Facebook IPO: Why Don't We Do It in the Roadshow?: What can we learn from the most important pre-IPO tour in the history of forever, other than that some Wall Street fuddy-duddies really don't like hoodies?
- Facebook IPO Week: The Basics: Confused about all that's happening in Facebook and finance land? We've prepared a helpful FAQ for Facebook's IPO week.
- Facebook IPO: What They're Saying: Everybody's talking about the soon-to-be newly minted billionaires behind the biggest, boldest Web 2.0 initial public offering to date. Here's a round-up.
For more from Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeAlbanesius.
