The most anticipated wait in the recent IPO history is over. The social networking giant Facebook Inc. has come public - the largest initial offering by a tech company in history.
Facebook is joining such tech giants as Google Inc. (GOOG), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) in the public market. As Facebook is starting to make its mark on Wall Street, let's have a look at the stories of some other big tech IPOs.
Google
Google Inc. (GOOG), the ubiquitous web-based search engine, initiated its public journey with similar hype on August 25, 2004 raising $1.67 billion, giving it a market capitalization of around $24 billion.
The firm, which currently has a value of about $200 billion, began in January 1996 as a research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were both attending Stanford University in California. The firm was incorporated as a privately held company in 1998, and since then, with its umpteen products and services, Google has grown to be a behemoth in its field of operations. The stock's performance was boosted by its strong sales and earnings in the online advertising market.
Apart from being the search engine, the firm's portfolio of products also includes Gmail email service, the Google Docs office suite, Google+ social networking service, along with Chrome web browser, the Picasa photo organizing and editing software, and the Google Talk instant messaging application.
In May last year, Google Sites became the first web property to surpass 1 billion unique visitors globally.
Google also leads in the development of the Android mobile operating system, which is an integral part of today's smartphones. Google driver-less car is the latest offering from the tech giant, bagging the first licence in the US.
The company has also expanded with its numerous acquisitions as well, the $12.5 billion deal for Motorola Mobility being the last in its long list.
With the competition mounting, Google is said to be aiming for a major revamp of its search engine and is now aiming to implement "semantic search" technology - the process of understanding the actual meaning of words, instead of taking keywords.
IPO
Price: $85
Valuation: $24 billion
Sales: $3.19 billion (2004)
Current Sales: $37.91 billion (2011)
Apple
Apple Inc. (AAPL), now with more a market cap of more than $500 billion went public on December 12, 1980 valued at nearly $1.8 billion. The stock, which had an initial price at $22 per share, has split three times since the IPO, reaching $565.25 a share as of May 4, 2012.
Formerly Apple Computer, Inc., the company was established on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, to sell the Apple I personal computer kit. Apple was incorporated January 3, 1977 without Wayne, who sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800.
Wozniak also left the firm shortly, and Apple sprinted on the bold shoulders of Jobs. Even though Jobs was ousted in 1985 in a power struggle with then CEO John Sculley, he came back along with Apple's acquisition of NeXT Inc. in 1996. Since then, there was no looking back.
The company removed 'computer' from its name after 30 years -in 2007 - as it shifted its traditional focus on personal computers, and now also designs and sells consumer electronics, and computer software. It is known for its Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. Icloud and iBooks are the latest in its offering.
On October 5, 2011, Jobs succumbed to cancer after a long fight, marking the end of an era for Apple. However, the tech giant is going ahead and keep up its offering of tech wonders. It is now the largest technology company in the world by revenue and profit, more than Google and Microsoft combined.
According to Fortune magazine, Apple was the most admired company in the United States in 2008, and in the world from 2008 to 2012, even though the firm has received widespread criticism for its contractors' labor, and for its environmental and business practices over the years.
Price: $22
Valuation: $1.7 Billion
Sales: $160 million (1980)
Current Sales: $108.25 billion (2011)
Microsoft
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), a provider of software products and services, was established on April 4, 1975 as a developer of BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800 by Paul Allen and Bill Gates, childhood friends with a passion for computer programming. It went public on March 13, 1986, at $21 per share raising $61 million for the company.
Since then, the software giant dominate the home computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s followed by the Windows line of operating systems. The firm's best-sellers include the Windows operating system and the Office suite of productivity software. Microsoft also entered the multi-billion-dollar game console market with the release of Xbox.
It is also a major player in the smartphone market with its Windows Phone OS, the primary smartphone operating system for mobile phone maker Nokia Corp.(NOK).
After leading the firm for a long period, Gates handed over the CEO position on January 13, 2000 to his old college friend and a long-term employee Steve Ballmer. He then created a new position for himself and was the company's Chief Software Architect until June 27, 2008. Currently, he is the Chairman of the firm.
On the negative side, Microsoft has been the target of various investigations, mainly in the 1990s, blamed to used monopolistic business practices and anti-competitive strategies.
Price: $21
Valuation: $650 million
Sales: $197.5 million (1986)
Current Sales: $69.94 billion (2011)
Cisco
Back in December 1984, two Stanford University computer scientists—Leonard Bosack and Sandra Lerner—established Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO), now the world's largest computer networking gear maker, by marketing the internet working technology Bosack had developed while at Stanford. Cisco became one of the first networking technology firms to develop a router, a device linking a number of local area networks, compatible with Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol.
The networking firm went public on February 16, 1990 at a split-adjusted price of about 6 cents. The company lost both its founders within six months, with Sandra Lerner being fired by then CEO John Morgridge, while husband Leonard Borsack quit in protest.
However, Cisco moved to the next level with Morgridge on the helm, and within five years, he led the firm to touch the $1 billion mark in revenues.
Morgridge was followed by John Chambers, who is in the top role for the past 17 years. He led the growth of the firm over the years to make it a networking-equipment giant with annual revenues of $43 billion.
Cisco also expanded through multiple strategic acquisitions. But the dot-com boom at the end of 2000 took more than $450 billion of Cisco's market value with it. The company has been struggling with rising costs that has threatened to derail its earnings growth.
However, under the leadership of Chambers, the company took restructuring efforts, cut jobs and invested heavily in wireless Internet equipment and consumer-oriented technologies.
On May 9, Cisco reported a 20 percent increase in third-quarter profit helped by higher sales and better cost control - the second consecutive quarter of higher profit following four quarters of year-over-year profit declines.
Chambers recently said, "We are successfully executing against our long-term strategic plan of growing profit faster than revenue, and in a cautious IT spending environment, we continue to outperform our competitors."
Price: $18
Valuation: $224 million
Sales: $69 million (1990)
Current Sales: $43.22 billion (2011)
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.