Facebook is worth more than $200bn

Facebook’s market value exceeded $200 billion to put it among the world’s biggest corporations, as investors bet on the company to capitalise on the future of mobile advertising.

Facebook shares rose 0.8 per cent to $77.89 at yesterday's close in New York, valuing the company at $201.6 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That made it the 22nd- largest company in the world, behind Verizon Communications and ahead of Toyota Motor Corp. The stock has jumped 9.3 per cent since July 23, compared with a 0.7 per cent increase in the Standard and Poor's 500 Index, after Facebook reported a 61 per cent increase in second-quarter sales to $2.91 billion.

Mobile promotions accounted for 62 per cent of ad sales, up from 59 per cent in the prior period. The gains are a far cry from Facebook’s May 2012 initial public offering, when a lack of mobile revenue led to a plunge in its stock.

Chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg, the world's 13th-richest person according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has made ads on smartphones and tablets Facebook's core business and is building on that foundation with a mobile network to spread the company's ads across the web and wireless devices. "This latest rally stems from their last earnings announcement, when they reported higher demand and sales numbers for their mobile ads," said Jeffrey Sica, who oversees more than $1.5 billion in assets as president of Sica Wealth Management, in an e-mail. "If they can continue to grow their mobile ads, they will have a sustainable demand for their stock."

Zuckerberg’s wealth

The stock's rise has boosted Zuckerberg's wealth to $34.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The CEO, 30, who co-founded Facebook in 2004, owns shares that give him 61.6 per cent of the voting power in the company, according to a March regulatory filing.

Bloomberg