With nearly one billion users, Facebook has become a brand that is recognized worldwide. Now those users will have the ability to be part investors in the social networking website, as Facebook is planning to file papers with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an initial public stock offering (IPO).

Facebook holds its user's information and has translated that into an invaluable resource for advertisers. Currently, it is unknown how much money Facebook actually makes, but it is suspected that the California-based company earned $4.2 billion in 2011. Once the prospectus becomes public, Facebook's financial information will be detailed for the public to see.

Some analysts speculate that Facebook's IPO would be the largest IPO of the decade because of the excitement that has already been generated. A Facebook IPO may be just what the stock market needs to get those investors who have been concerned over volatility back into the stock market with what is generally believed at this point to be a very strong and wise investment.

In addition, the state of California is hoping to alleviate its budget problems with revenue that would be generated by the IPO in terms of capital gains taxes that can be earned from the transaction.

As part of the sale of stock to shareholders, Facebook would raise $10 billion. It is further expected that on opening day, the share price of Facebook will skyrocket. So what does Facebook plan to do with the money it earns by selling stock to investors? Apparently, it hopes to wage a competition against Google and Apple for domination of the Internet.

The IPO can be expected approximately three months after the papers are filed with the SEC. The owner and inventor of Facebook believes that an IPO makes sense as the company continues to expand. It is expected that he will retain control over the company through the use of a dual-class stock system.

Source: Los Angeles Times, "Wall Street clicks 'like' on Facebook IPO," Jessica Guynn and Walter Hamilton, Jan. 26, 2012