Facebook filed the paperwork for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission, confirming earlier reports that the company would finally go public this week. The company plans to raise $5 billion and will trade under the symbol FB, though it has not yet disclosed if it will trade under NASDAQ or the New York Stock Exchange. The $5 billion valuation puts the company ahead of Zynga--which built its empire on the Facebook platform--which raised $1 billion in its IPO, the largest offering by a U.S. tech firm since Google generated $1.9 billion in 2004.
Facebook's filing details that a major goal for the future is a stronger presence in mobile.
"We are devoting substantial resources to developing engaging mobile products and experiences for a wide range of platforms, including smartphones and feature phones. In addition, we are working across the mobile industry with operators, hardware manufacturers, operating system providers, and developers to improve the Facebook experience on mobile devices and make Facebook available to more people around the world. We believe that mobile usage is critical to maintaining user growth and engagement over the long term," the company wrote in its filing.
The filing also reveals the social networking giant counts over 850 million users, with over 425 million monthly active users (MAU) on Facebook's mobile efforts in December 2011 alone. Facebook defines a mobile MAU as any user who accessed Facebook via a mobile app or mobile-optimized version of its website using a handset or tablet during the given time period.
Facebook makes most of its money from advertising and by selling virtual goods. Last year it reported revenue of $3.7 billion, a whopping 88 percent increase from the previous year. Last year Facebook posted a profit of $1 billion.
"We currently do not show ads or directly generate any meaningful revenue from users accessing Facebook through our mobile products, but we believe that we may have potential future monetization opportunities such as the inclusion of sponsored stories in users’ mobile News Feeds," the company wrote in its filing.
International Financing Review noted that Facebook's filing timetable indicates the IPO process likely will conclude in May 2012, pending smooth sailing with the SEC.
Recent trading of Facebook stock on private exchanges points to a valuation of more than $80 billion.
