Facebook’s valuation soars past Amazon.com, second only to Google

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is considering a cameo this week on ‘Saturday Night Live’ with actor Jesse Eisenberg, who plays him in the Oscar-nominated ‘The Social Network.’

Zuckerberg has plenty of reasons to laugh. About $82.9 billion of them. That’s how much his Palo Alto social networking company is worth on online private exchange SharesPost.

According to Bloomberg, that value has soared 40% since mid-December and sevenfold since March, making Facebook worth more than Amazon.com and second only to Google among U.S. Internet companies. Amazon.com shares fell 7% on Friday after the online retailing giant disappointed investors with its sales forecast.

Despite skepticism from many investors who say the stock is overvalued and warn of a technology bubble, Facebook shares are shooting into space as if launched from Cape Canaveral, boosted on this gravity-defying trajectory by its popularity with more than 600 million active users.

Facebook said last week that it raised $1.5 billion in new financing led by Goldman Sachs. The investments included $500 million from the investment bank and Russian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies as well as $1 billion from Goldman Sachs clients overseas.

According to documents sent to prospective investors in that deal, Facebook plans to start reporting financial results by April 2012. The company will be required to make those disclosures by the Securities and Exchange Commission whether or not it has held an initial stock public offering.

RELATED:

Investors question Facebook’s $50-billion valuation, fear a bubble, poll says

Facebook’s cash infusion whets appetites of investors

Facebook hits 600 million users, executive says

-- Jessica Guynn