Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is looking to take on a whole new level of competition with another colossal tech company, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). The social media giant is rolling out a new feature on its Facebook platform to address employment, similar to what LinkedIn has done in the past. Keep in mind that Microsoft only recently completed its acquisition of LinkedIn. The question is who will win this clash of the titans.
This expansion by Facebook could ultimately hurt LinkedIn and Microsoft if this business platform gains traction. Currently, Facebook is used by over 1.2 billion people on a daily basis, with monthly active users totaling closer to 1.9 billion. So this is a big pool to draw from, but execution will be key.
Zuckerberg is rolling out a Business Pages section on the Facebook platform where users will be able to post job openings to the news feed. Also users will be able to host the openings on their page. One step even further is that users can hit the “Apply Now” button, which will send information from the user’s Facebook to form a cursory introduction to speed up the application process.
Much like a temp agency or a staffing service, Facebook could look to generate revenues akin to a finder’s fee.
There are some key differences between the Facebook and LinkedIn platform. First, the jobs listed on each seem to have a wide difference; Facebook is offering more temp or part-time jobs, while LinkedIn is offering more skilled positions. Also LinkedIn has a more detailed section for a resume than Facebook currently offers. As previously mentioned, Facebook has close to 1.9 billion users, while LinkedIn has just below 500 million users.
Since the LinkedIn acquisition was completed in December 2016, there have not been any meaningful updates to the business.
Shares of Facebook were trading at $133.95 on Friday, with a consensus analyst price target of $159.42 and a 52-week trading range of $102.06 to $135.49. Facebook has a market cap of $386 billion.
Microsoft shares were trading at $64.62. The consensus price target is $69.56, and the 52-week range is $48.04 to $65.91. Microsoft’s market cap is $499 billion.
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