FB: Facebook Files for $5 Billion IPO

Facebook IPO Filing Feb 1, 2012: What is Facebook's Ticker Symbol?

Facebook has filed papers for an IPO that hopes to raise $5 billion. This is the largest internet IPO since Google's in 2004. Facebook intends to trade under the ticker symbol "FB". Earlier reports this week had Facebook eyeing a $75-100 billion IPO, but Mark Zuckerberg's company didn't go that big.

• Facebook IPO: Privacy Implications

Facebook claimed $3.7 billion in revenue, with $1 billion in income for 2011. As did Sergey Brin and Larry Page with Google's IPO, Mark Zuckerberg will retain control of 57% of Facebook's stock, so that the company would not be totally at the whim of shareholders.

Facebook's Biggest Threats

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Lenders Turn to Facebook to Deliver Foreclosure Notices

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In the IPO filing, Facebook had to list some of the biggest threats to its health as a company, and a social network indeed faces many risks. For Facebook, these include:

• Reliance on Zynga (Farmville and its ilk make up 12% of Facebook's profits)
  
• Ability to manage privacy concerns (the company already sucks at this)
• Capacity for sustained growth (running out of people to convert into FB users)
• Internet- and privacy laws (SOPA and its ilk, varied across many nations)
• End users' changing taste (this risk is exacerbated by the increasing screen puke with each new Facebook UI)
  

See more: Facebook's Most Serious Threats, According to Facebook.