Facebook's IPO Fortune: Tech Weekly Recap

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - Facebook. Facebook. Facebook. The social networking giant was the star of the show this week, as the company filed its paperwork to go public and caused journalists, investors and nearly the entire tech world to weigh in with their thoughts.

Facebook filed its S-1 on Wednesday, seeking to raise $5 billion. That would be the largest tech IPO in history, outdoing the likes of other web giants, such as Google(GOOG) and Amazon(AMZN) . Facebook will trade under the ticker symbol "FB", but the exchange is not yet known.

Morgan Stanley(MS) is the lead underwriter, with five other investment banks helping with the offering.

The 202-page filing was heavily scrutinized, due to the immense popularity of the company. It revealed even more than many had speculated. Facebook had revenue of $3.7 billion in 2011, close to the $4 billion figure that had been rumored for some time. Net income was $1 billion, showcasing Facebook's profit margin as extremely healthy.

Despite the strong revenue and net income numbers, though, investing in Facebook may be a tricky situation, as investor demand is likely to be staggering and could cause a massive run up in shares.

The filing revealed that of the 845 million users, more than half access the site through its mobile apps. There were several surprises in the S-1, including a slowing growth rate and a greater-than-expected reliance on Zynga(ZNGA) .

Even though Facebook said it doesn't make any "meaningful revenue" from its mobile apps, it believes mobility will be extremely important to the future of the company.

With all of the hoopla surrounding Facebook, the company's rumored $100 billion valuation raised a lot of eyeballs. TheStreet readers were polled asking for their thoughts on this issue, with the majority saying that the social networking phenomenon is not worth $100 billion. In the filing, Facebook did not say what percentage of the company it's looking to sell.

Amazon(AMZN) reported very unusual fourth-quarter earnings this week, with revenue missing estimates and earnings beating Wall Street consensus.

The Seattle-based e-commerce giant reported fourth-quarter revenue of $17.4 billion and earnings of 38 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected $18.2 billion in revenue and earnings of 19 cents per share.

Amazon said it's selling "millions" of its tablet, the Kindle Fire, but did not give specific numbers. CEO Jeff Bezos said in the company press release that the Kindle was Amazon's "bestselling product across both the U.S. and Europe."

Analysts had thrown out estimates of around 6 million Kindle Fire shipments, but that pales in comparison to the number one tablet in the market, the Apple(AAPL) iPad, which sold over 15 million units in the most recent quarter.

Amazon shares finished the week up $5.96, or 3.28%, at $187.68.

Qualcomm(QCOM) reported blow-out earnings earlier this week and also raised its guidance, as the chipmaker continues to see strong demand for its Snapdragon microchips.

Qualcomm reported $4.68 billion in revenue, and earned 97 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting $4.58 billion in revenue and earnings of 90 cents per share.

As demand for smartphones and tablets continues to grow, Qualcomm raised earnings and revenue guidance. The San Diego-based company now expects 2012 sales to be between $18.7 billion and $19.7 billion, above a previous projection of $18 billion to $19 billion. Analysts were looking for $18.48 billion. The chip specialist expects to earn between $3.55 and $3.75 per share, compared to its prior forecast of $3.42 to $3.62. Wall Street expects earnings of $3.59 per share.

Qualcomm gave strong second-quarter guidance, projecting revenue between $4.6 billion and $5 billion, and earnings between 91 cents and 97 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect $4.51 billion in revenue and earnings of 89 cents per share.

Qualcomm shares ended the week up 33 cents, or 0.54%, at $61.06.

Seagate Technologies(STX) shares soared this week after the hard disk drive maker blew out Wall Street estimates.

The hard disk drive industry has been negatively impacted by the flooding in Thailand, but Seagate indicated last month that it would report exceptionally strong results. Even those indications proved to be somewhat conservative.

Seagate reported $3.2 billion in revenue and earnings of $1.32 per share for the second quarter. Wall Street analysts were looking for sales of $3.15 billion and $1.08 per share in earnings.

Seagate shares surged during the week, closing up 67 cents, or 2.6%, at $26.42.

Interested in more on Seagate Technologoies? See TheStreet Ratings' report card for this stock.

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--Written by Chris Ciaccia in New York

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