Facebook Racing to a Trillion

Facebook has 1.6 billion users and a market cap of $350,000,000,000. As of 4pm yesterday, it was trading at $121 up from ~$20 in 2012.

Unlike other high-profile technology companies — ahem, Twitter — Facebook has been crushing its quarterly reports. Led by a visionary, Facebook has acquired market-defining companies (Instagram, WhatsApp) and built mass-scale products (Messenger). Combined, Facebook and its properties dominant social.

According to the WSJ, at its current pace, Facebook will reach a $1,000,000,000,000 (that’s trillion) market cap by 2020 — a historically unmatched scale and speed.

Its rapid ascent so far is unmatched by other tech behemoths. After a little more than four years on the public markets, its market value is already approaching a level that took Google parent Alphabet Inc.nine years and Cisco Systems Inc. 10 years from their respective IPOs to achieve. Microsoft Corp. did it in 13 years. Amazon.com Inc.reached it in 18 years. Apple Inc. needed over three decades.

Some doubt that Facebook will continue at its current pace. They may be right. But it is hard to discount a young, ambitious, visionary leader who has already reached — and exceeded — historic scale.