The Facebook IPO proves one thing: Mark Zuckerberg is a whole lot smarter than Wall Street. Contrary to what the media are saying, the Facebook IPO was a rousing success — for Facebook. They raised $16 billion for the company treasury. The IPO price was $38. Today (May 22) the stock is down about 20 percent from that. Mr. Zuckerberg truly maximized the capital raised in this IPO.
As for the stock price not going through the roof, who cares? When that happens it usually means the IPO was priced too low. In which case, Wall Street and their favored customers gain and the company loses.
GonzoEcon congratulates Mr. Zuckerberg on outsmarting Wall Street.
Update May 26: New York Times columnist Joe Nocera agrees with me.
