American tech multinational giant Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) became the latest company to cross US$1 trillion valuation mark, joining the elite club of tech only companies.
The shares of the company that operates some of the largest social media platforms across the globe, rallied 4.2% to close at US$355.64 a share after a favourable legal ruling dismissed an antitrust complaint lodged by the US Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general.
As a result of the rally, the company’s market capitalisation crossed the US$1-trillion mark – and currently stands at US$1.01 trillion.
Facebook has become the fifth US company to cross the milestone – with all of them being in tech sector and popularly known as FAANG. The other four companies include Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL). Interestingly, two of the FAANG companies now sit with a valuation of over US$2 trillion: Apple leading with US$2.25 trillion followed by Microsoft valued at US$2.02 trillion.
Most of the revenue for Facebook comes from personalised advertisements, which are pushed to the users of the Facebook and Instagram – the social media platforms owned by the company. The company also has a hardware business aimed at building products like the Portal video-calling device, Oculus virtual-reality headsets and smart glasses. All these products are set to be released sometime in 2021 – which is likely to add to the earnings of the company.
The company’s worth has ballooned 10 times in the past nine years – since it was listed. Facebook was listed in the US in 2012, with a market capitalisation of US$104 billion.
The surge in Facebook shares has also pushed the NASDAQ to the record highs. The NASDAQ Composite closed at 14,500.51, up almost 1% overnight in Wall Street.
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