Facebook, Inc. (FB), the widely popular social networking site that has rocketed to corporate stardom, is officially listed on the Nasdaq 100 Index. This index is comprised of the top 100 national and international companies listed and tracked by the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. Facebook’s market capitalization or the average value of outstanding stock is the metric by which size is measured for indexing eligibility. Facebook’s market capitalization is approximately $29.7 billion per Nasdaq.
The admission of Facebook into the Nasdaq 100 was not a big surprise for the market and comes only months after the corporation became publicly traded via its initial public offering in May, 2012. Its IPO price was $38 per share and since then, the price reached as high as $45 per share. Following entry into the Nasdaq 100 on December 12, 2012, Facebook shares were trading in the vicinity of $27.50 for much of the day.
The Nasdaq 100 Index provides market observers with a performance snapshot of industry leaders across a number of economic sectors such as bio-technology and computer hardware. However, the index does not include financial investment firms per Nasdaq. Even so, this index is correlated with other major indexes including the S&P 500 on which Facebook is not currently listed, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Indicators of Facebook’s product preeminence were evident early on in its existence. Only a year after the company was founded in 2004, the business had reached popularity levels of 85 percent in colleges using the service per a survey data detailed by Mashable. Moreover, this success was clearly evident in the $200,000 domain name purchase of Facebook.com in 2005. In 2012, global Facebook membership surpassed 1 billion users and according to Business Insider, Facebook interns net $25,000 more per year than the average American.
The listing of Facebook on the Nasdaq 100 affirms, rather than establishes the business’ market strength and positioning because specific requirements must be met in order to remain on the index. To illustrate, according to Seeking Alpha, the company must meet requirements including an average share volume of 200,000 or more. This means the shares are highly sought after for trading purposes in addition to being a more likely candidate for institutional investors.
Staying on the Nasdaq 100 is not guaranteed for Facebook, nor does being ranked among the top 100 firms of the stock exchange determine whether or not it will continue to perform in the social media marketplace. Although it has joined the ranks of firms such as Apple, Inc, Amazon.com, Inc., and Google, Inc., it must continue to be the social networking of choice for tens of millions of Americans and millions more across the world. That is not necessarily an easy feat considering the speed at which social trends change, and that the majority of Facebook’s market demographic is under 34 years of age within a population that’s average age is progressively increasing.