Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB)

bluealpaka (44.86) Submitted: 7/30/2012 7:12:41 AM : Start Price: $24.00 FB Score: +14.95

FB will likely succeed for the next few years in staying the dominant social network. However, I strongly doubt that they can adequately monetize their success. Users are simply not very interested in the ads on the website, which is reflected in the ever-declining prices for them. Facebook also has to tread carefully when introducing new revenue models, e.g ads on mobile devices. Users have little loyalty to a particular social network, and too obvious or aggressive monetization will result in users reducing their activity and/or leaving altogether. The amount of information that the company has about its users is also often overestimated. A growing number of users enter little and/or false information, which is most obvious in the many fake accounts or real accounts with fake names.Finally, I have doubts about the company's leadership. Zuckerberg's decision to buy Instagram for an absolutely ridiculous amount of money without consulting his board is symptomatic of his megalomania and reveals deep paranoia wrt possible competitors, which is likely to lead to more bad (and costly) decisions.