Facebook Passes eBay in Value

Facebook’s estimated market value has shot past eBay’s, making it the third most valuable web company. Shares of the privately held company are now trading at more than $16 on SecondMarket, sources tell Bloomberg, which would make the overall company worth $41 billion—behind only Amazon ($74.4 billion) and the big kid on the block, Google ($192.2 billion).

SecondMarket doesn’t publicly release trading data, but Bloomberg’s source said Facebook’s price has tripled over the past year. Another private exchange estimates Facebook’s value at $40.9 billion, and says it’s shot up nearly 50% in the past month alone. Those valuations might change drastically on the open market, however. “It could be a bargain at $41 billion,” says one IPO consultant. Then again, Facebook doesn’t disclose financial information, and a spokesman cautioned that all external value estimates are “fundamentally speculative.”