Facebook’s $5 Billion IPO: The Next Google? Or The Next Groupon?

Facebook is finally going public.

On Wednesday, Facebook filed the prospectus for its initial public offering. The social giant seeks to raise $5 billion in initial funding. That’s in line with some of the largest IPOs in technology history, and it comes eight years after the company was first launched in the Harvard dorm room of CEO Mark Zuckerberg. According to the company’s IPO filing, in 2011, it recorded revenue of $3.7 billion, operating income of $1.75 billion, and net income of $1 billion. While the company’s S-1 filing does not list how much shares will cost upon the date of the IPO, Facebook’s most recent estimate as of December 31 puts the per share price at $29.73.

Given Facebook’s size and popularity — the social network has over 845 million members worldwide — eight years is actually quite a long time. Over that period, Facebook had unprecedented access to capital, and on sites like SharesPost and SecondMarket, pre-IPO prospectors have been able to purchase and trade shares in the company from employees and other early stakeholders. The company’s relative maturity means that most of the millions — or billions — that could be made from buying public shares have probably already been made.

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