Facebook's first year on Wall Street
But as launches go, this one was a misfire. A software glitch at Nasdaq delayed the IPO by 30 minutes. Worse, investor demand underwhelmed. After pricing at $38, Facebook shares barely got off the ground to close at $38.23. The biggest, baddest IPO since Google's 2004 offering was officially a dud.
Growing pains
But investors were unimpressed. Shares, which had steadily lost ground since the IPO two months earlier, fell to roughly $24. Even more worrisome, Facebook's formerly startling growth rate was tapering off. Pundits and analysts once enamored of the social networking firm started to question its growth prospects.
Friend me, maybe
It hasn't been easy. Facebook Home, the company's software apps for Android phones, fizzled. Consumer reviews were brutal, and phones equipped with Home were quickly consigned to the bargain bin.
On the business front, Facebook struggled with a problem that other social media -- and old media -- companies are grappling with: How to make money from mobile, a challenging medium for serving ads.
Building the social graph
Yet only four months after Graph Search rolled out, relatively few Facebook users have access to it. Brian Blau, research director of consumer technologies at Gartner, recently told CNET that the service is "clearly a miss."
Maturity beckons
If Facebook's first year as a public company was one of transition from hot startup to a growing business, year two will likely revolve around managerial execution. Questions include whether Facebook can match Wall Street's earnings targets, along with whether the company can expand abroad. Other companies, notably Google, are also stepping up their social media efforts. As Facebook's stock price shows, limping along as of Friday at round $26 a share, the jury remains out.
