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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Facebook shares open at $42 as it begins trading on Nasdaq | Facebook shares open at $42 as it begins trading on Nasdaq |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Facebook began trading shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange this morning, opening at just over $42, instantly up 10% on the initial offer price, before dropping back to just over $40. | Facebook began trading shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange this morning, opening at just over $42, instantly up 10% on the initial offer price, before dropping back to just over $40. |
| With the initial offer price of $38, Facebook's shares were already set at the high end of a range the company set earlier in the week and values the company at $104bn. | With the initial offer price of $38, Facebook's shares were already set at the high end of a range the company set earlier in the week and values the company at $104bn. |
| The price makes Facebook more valuable than Amazon, which also trades on the Nasdaq. | The price makes Facebook more valuable than Amazon, which also trades on the Nasdaq. |
| Early trading was delayed until 11.30amn by the volume of shares being bought and sold. More than 82m shares were traded in the first 30 seconds. | Early trading was delayed until 11.30amn by the volume of shares being bought and sold. More than 82m shares were traded in the first 30 seconds. |
| The first trades were made two hours after Mark Zuckerberg remotely rang the opening bell for the New York-based stock exchange from outside his California headquarters as staff cheered him on. | The first trades were made two hours after Mark Zuckerberg remotely rang the opening bell for the New York-based stock exchange from outside his California headquarters as staff cheered him on. |
| The excitement was rare good news for Wall Street, where major indexes were on track to close their worst week of 2012, pressured largely by the ongoing situation in Europe. | The excitement was rare good news for Wall Street, where major indexes were on track to close their worst week of 2012, pressured largely by the ongoing situation in Europe. |
| The sale instantly catapulted the social network founder into the top tier of the super rich. The shares were priced to sell at $38 and at that price Facebook created 88 people with fortunes of over $30m, according to Wealth-X, an analyst that monitors high net worth individuals. If the price reaches $43, there will be 265 Facebook millionaires worth more than $30m. | The sale instantly catapulted the social network founder into the top tier of the super rich. The shares were priced to sell at $38 and at that price Facebook created 88 people with fortunes of over $30m, according to Wealth-X, an analyst that monitors high net worth individuals. If the price reaches $43, there will be 265 Facebook millionaires worth more than $30m. |
| Facebook's initial public offering (IPO) is the most hotly anticipated share sale since Google's in 2004. Google's stock started trading at $85 and ended the day at $100.34. Google's shares now sell for over $620. | Facebook's initial public offering (IPO) is the most hotly anticipated share sale since Google's in 2004. Google's stock started trading at $85 and ended the day at $100.34. Google's shares now sell for over $620. |
| As with the Google IPO, there has been a lot of scepticism about Facebook's ability to turn its phenomenal number of users into a business able to support a $100bn-plus valuation. Facebook's revenues were $3.7bn last year. Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, had revenues of close to $29bn and is valued at half Facebook's current value. | As with the Google IPO, there has been a lot of scepticism about Facebook's ability to turn its phenomenal number of users into a business able to support a $100bn-plus valuation. Facebook's revenues were $3.7bn last year. Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, had revenues of close to $29bn and is valued at half Facebook's current value. |
| The social network now has over 900 million people on its service and will soon top a billion. For its fans, Facebook is the defining company of the 21st century. | The social network now has over 900 million people on its service and will soon top a billion. For its fans, Facebook is the defining company of the 21st century. |
| "His impact on the world will be as least as big as Bill Gates and probably already has been," said David Kirkpatrick, author of The Facebook Effect. | "His impact on the world will be as least as big as Bill Gates and probably already has been," said David Kirkpatrick, author of The Facebook Effect. |
| Other analysts argued that the hype was proof of another dotcom bubble. Facebook's IPO follows a mixed set of share sales from other social media firms including Groupon, the online coupon company, and Zynga, the games firm behind Words With Friends and Draw Something. | Other analysts argued that the hype was proof of another dotcom bubble. Facebook's IPO follows a mixed set of share sales from other social media firms including Groupon, the online coupon company, and Zynga, the games firm behind Words With Friends and Draw Something. |
| Facebook itself has driven up the bubble, according to some, by spending $1bn on Instagram, a profitless photo-sharing application. | Facebook itself has driven up the bubble, according to some, by spending $1bn on Instagram, a profitless photo-sharing application. |
| "Facebook's shares were always going to pop at the open, that's no suprise at all," said Sam Hamadeh, co-founder of PrivCo, a financial analyst. "After the first couple of weeks, I think it'll drop back down to the mid twenties." | "Facebook's shares were always going to pop at the open, that's no suprise at all," said Sam Hamadeh, co-founder of PrivCo, a financial analyst. "After the first couple of weeks, I think it'll drop back down to the mid twenties." |
| Hamadeh said he believed Facebook was worth $24-$25 a share. "And that's being generous," he said. | Hamadeh said he believed Facebook was worth $24-$25 a share. "And that's being generous," he said. |
| Whatever the future for Facebook, it's founders and early investors were certainly celebrating. | Whatever the future for Facebook, it's founders and early investors were certainly celebrating. |
| Co-founder Eduardo Saverin congratulated Zuckerberg on his Facebook page: "Congrats to everyone involved in the project from day one till today, and I especially wanted to congratulate Mark Zukerberg (sic) on keeping tremendous stead-fast (sic) focus, however hard that was, on making the world a more open and connected place." | Co-founder Eduardo Saverin congratulated Zuckerberg on his Facebook page: "Congrats to everyone involved in the project from day one till today, and I especially wanted to congratulate Mark Zukerberg (sic) on keeping tremendous stead-fast (sic) focus, however hard that was, on making the world a more open and connected place." |
| Saverin is now worth over $2.7bn. | Saverin is now worth over $2.7bn. |