(Reuters) – Facebook Inc reported its first quarter-to-quarter revenue slide in at least two years, a sign that the social network’s sizzling growth may be cooling as it prepares to go public in the biggest ever Internet IPO.
The company blamed the first-quarter decline, which surprised some on Wall Street, on seasonal advertising trends.
“It was a faster slowdown than we would have guessed,” said Brian Wieser, an analyst with Pivotal Research Group.
“No matter how you slice it, for a company that is perceived as growing so rapidly, to slow so much on whatever basis – sequentially or annually – it will be somewhat concerning to investors if faced with a lofty valuation,” Wieser said.
Facebook is preparing to raise at least $5 billion in an initial public offering that could value the world’s largest social network at up to $100 billion.
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