My wife has given me permission to gloat a bit after I said this about Facebook, and Wal-Mart, by-the-by, yesterday on this very same blog. The reason? Wall Street had a nice day today, but the 'book fell on its Face, dropping to $34.03, almost $4 from its opening last week. Meanwhile, a real company that makes real products that are really, really popular and, by-the-by, expensive relative to their competition, Apple, climbed 5.8% (%!) to $561.28.
This spells short term trouble for Facebook and other social networking sites considering going public. Perhaps it's just the leftover blahs from the past few weeks. Perhaps it's the lingering blah form the remnants of Recession George. Perhaps this is a blip and the stock will rise commensurate with the hype as the economy improves.
Perhaps, but I don't think so.
Facebook will never be like Apple or Google until they actually have something to sell that doesn't involve people checking the box on a privacy policy that prints out at Moby Dick-like length and, by-the-by doesn't really protect your privacy. They have loads of information, but now have to find a way to sell it in a responsible, green, diversity-friendly way.
I wish them every good luck with that.
Please join the conversation at www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives (for free) and on Twitter @rigrundfest
Apple's stock is overpriced. Be that as it may, I think the only thing we can conclude from today's drop in FB is that their IPO was overpriced, and that the initial buyers were either deluded or they didn't care. I suspect the latter, with some of them not caring because they are in it for the long haul, and the rest of them not caring because they figured there would be plenty of deluded secondary investors.
ReplyDeleteI think that long term, the stock is a better buy. I wonder if we're headed toward another bubble.
DeleteBuy rumor, sell fact.
ReplyDeleteFacts are stubborn things.
DeleteClosed at $31 today. Good think Zuckerberg drives a used Acura.
ReplyDelete