When did Facebook go public and what did it say about ads?
Facebook priced its initial public offering on 17 May 2012 at $38 a share, with trading on NASDAQ under the symbol FB expected to start the next day. Its prospectus said advertising made up 85% of 2011 revenue and that Facebook had historically not shown ads on mobile. Sponsored stories reached mobile News Feeds in March 2012.
Facebook priced its initial public offering on 17 May 2012 at $38 a share, and its shares were expected to start trading on NASDAQ the next day under the symbol FB. For advertisers, the filings behind the listing matter more than the price. They are Facebook’s own account of how much it earned from ads, how advertisers paid, and that mobile did not yet earn it meaningful revenue directly.
What happened on the day Facebook went public?
On 17 May 2012 Facebook announced it had priced an offering of 421,233,615 shares at $38 per share. Facebook itself offered 180,000,000 Class A shares and selling stockholders offered 241,233,615. The announcement said trading was expected to begin on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on 18 May 2012, with closing expected on 22 May 2012.
Facebook’s annual report for 2012 later confirmed that it completed its initial public offering in May 2012 and sold 180,000,000 Class A shares at $38.00.
When a timeline gives a different date or price, check it against these filings.
How much of Facebook’s revenue came from ads?
Nearly all of it. The registration statement filed on 1 February 2012 said advertising was 98%, 95% and 85% of revenue in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The 2012 annual report added a fourth year:
| Year | Advertising revenue | Total revenue | Ads as share of revenue (as filed) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | $764 million | $777 million | 98% |
| 2010 | $1,868 million | $1,974 million | 95% |
| 2011 | $3,154 million | $3,711 million | 85% |
| 2012 | $4,279 million | $5,089 million | 84% |
The remainder was a line the filings call “payments and other fees”, which was $557 million in 2011 and $810 million in 2012. The final prospectus also gave 82% for the first quarter of 2012.
Use these filings when you need to date a claim about an ad product, because each one states what existed at the time it was written.
How did the filings say advertisers paid?
The registration statement says advertisers choose to pay by cost per thousand impressions (CPM), on a fixed or bidded basis, or by cost per click (CPC), on a bidded basis. Advertisers also indicate the maximum price they are willing to pay and their maximum budget. The system also supported guaranteed delivery of a fixed number of impressions for a fixed price.
The 2012 annual report describes the same two pricing terms and a maximum budget. If you need to know how those terms read in today’s reports, see the entries on CPM and CPC.
What did Facebook say about sponsored stories and mobile ads?
The final prospectus, filed on 18 May 2012, says Facebook launched sponsored stories in 2011. It also says: “We have historically not shown ads to users accessing Facebook through mobile apps or our mobile website. In March 2012, we began to include sponsored stories in users’ mobile News Feeds.”
Facebook’s 29 February 2012 announcement said Sponsored Stories could be seen in News Feed on mobile devices. The prospectus adds that Facebook did not yet directly generate any meaningful revenue from mobile products, and called its ability to do so “unproven”.
The registration statement also lists a risk: advertisers “may view some of our products, such as sponsored stories and ads with social context, as experimental and unproven”.
The 2012 annual report says Facebook began showing ads in mobile users’ News Feeds in 2012. It estimated that about 11% of its ads revenue for the year, and about 23% for the fourth quarter, came from mobile products. Check which placements your own campaigns use in Ads Manager.
What new ad products did the first annual report list?
The 2012 annual report says that in 2012 Facebook introduced ads in News Feed on desktop and mobile, Custom Audiences, and Facebook Exchange (FBX), a real-time bidded ad exchange. Custom Audiences is described as a feature that lets marketers find their offline customers among Facebook users.
For how Custom Audiences began, see the entry on when they launched, and check Ads Manager for what is offered to your account today.
FAQ
Did Facebook show ads on mobile when it went public?
Not before March 2012. The final prospectus says Facebook had historically not shown ads on mobile apps or the mobile website, and that it began including sponsored stories in mobile News Feeds in March 2012. It said it did not yet directly generate any meaningful revenue from mobile products.
Was all of Facebook’s revenue from advertising?
No. Advertising was 85% of 2011 revenue and 84% of 2012 revenue as filed. The rest was “payments and other fees”, $557 million in 2011 and $810 million in 2012. Use the filings’ own table when you quote a share, because the share changes by year.
Who sold the shares in the IPO?
Both Facebook and existing stockholders. Facebook’s announcement says the company offered 180,000,000 Class A shares and selling stockholders offered 241,233,615, for 421,233,615 in total at $38 each. The final prospectus says Facebook did not receive proceeds from the shares the selling stockholders sold.
Sources
- Facebook Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering (17 May 2012) (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- Facebook final prospectus, Form 424B4 (filed 18 May 2012) (Meta filing with the SEC, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- Facebook Form S-1 registration statement (filed 1 February 2012) (Meta filing with the SEC, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- Facebook Form 10-K for 2012 (Meta filing with the SEC, checked 2 Oct 2026)
- Announcing Offers, New Placements (29 February 2012) (Meta, checked 2 Oct 2026)
Drafted with AI and checked claim by claim against the pages linked under Sources. Found a mistake? Tell us via the corrections policy.