Almost as soon as it was out of the gate, Facebook's stock tanked. From its IPO price of $38, in three months it's dropped to less than $20 per share ($19.34 at yesterday's close). Going public is kind of like growing up: A lot of rules change, and you're expected to behave in different ways. Before, Facebook's Founder Mark Zuckerberg was judged on a lot of things. But now, with Wall Street watching, stock price is the
big thing. So, the question: Could Zuckerberg be dropped from the company he started -- like Steve Jobs was dropped from Apple in 1985? Stocks tend to rise over time but, as the Los Angeles Times recently noted, investors are starting to ask if Zuckerberg can make Facebook hit the numbers it needs in order to raise its stock price. It seems that skepticism prevails. Personally, I think the company's board should bring in a CEO with more business experience, like Google brought in Eric Schmidt in 2000. Facebook lies somewhere between 1985's Apple and 2000's Google. Maybe Zuckerberg, and the company,would be better served if he left his perch as CEO and focused on Facebook's technical innovations instead. It's up to him for now, unless the board decides to take action. It'd be a shame to see one of the biggest companies in the world begin to creep backwards.
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Almost as soon as it was out of the gate, Facebook's stock tanked. From its IPO price of $38, in three months it's dropped to less than $20 per share ($19.34 at yesterday's close). Going public is kind of like growing up: A lot of rules change, and you're expected to behave in different ways. Before, Facebook's Founder Mark Zuckerberg was judged on a lot of things. But now, with Wall Street watching, stock price is the big thing. So, the question: Could Zuckerberg be dropped from the company he started -- like Steve Jobs was dropped from Apple in 1985? Stocks tend to rise over time but, as the Los Angeles Times recently noted, investors are starting to ask if Zuckerberg can make Facebook hit the numbers it needs in order to raise its stock price. It seems that skepticism prevails. Personally, I think the company's board should bring in a CEO with more business experience, like Google brought in Eric Schmidt in 2000. Facebook lies somewhere between 1985's Apple and 2000's Google. Maybe Zuckerberg, and the company,would be better served if he left his perch as CEO and focused on Facebook's technical innovations instead. It's up to him for now, unless the board decides to take action. It'd be a shame to see one of the biggest companies in the world begin to creep backwards.
