Facebook shows Apple influence in IPO filing

The SEC filing behind Facebook's long-expected IPO has seen company founder Mark Zuckerberg take an Apple cue in his pay. The CEO earlier this month requested that, as of the start of 2013, his base pay be cut from as much as $500,000 in 2011 to just $1, much like Apple co-creator Steve Jobs. Zuckerberg is known to have taken advice from Jobs and considered his success an aspirational goal.

Like Jobs, most of Zuckerberg's value will come from his stake in the company. At 28.4 percent ownership, the executive is estimated to be worth about $25 billion. While the strategy has been used by other CEOs, the $1 salary is usually a sign of confidence as well as an incentive to make sure the company succeeds.

Apple and other mobile-heavy companies stood to pose an ironic risk for the company. With 425 million monthly active users on mobile who weren't generating direct ad revenue, the company was aware that it was leaving potential money untapped. Too much expansion of its mobile apps and website could hurt business, Facebook said.

The site generated about 85 percent of its $3.7 billion in 2011 revenue through ads and another 12 percent just through Zynga games like FarmVille or Zynga Poker. A hope for HTML5-native games is in part to prevent Zynga from pushing too heavily into iOS and Android apps like Words With Friends, where any cut of the revenue would go to Apple or Google.

By Electronista Staff