Facebook Inc. [stckqut]FB[/stckqut] is emulating the playbook of Alphabet Inc., with a new class of stock that keeps the company in the control of its founder so he can continue to make big bets of the type that are paying off on Wall Street.
Like Alphabet’s Google [stckqut]GOOGL[/stckqut] business before it, Facebook is becoming an Internet advertising juggernaut while warning investors that spending is going to increase going forward. Much like Google’s acquisition bets on the likes of YouTube and Android, Facebook is seeing returns on Instagram and has started rolling out virtual-reality products from Oculus VR, though Zuckerberg stressed several times that VR is years from paying off.
Facebook said it created a new class of nonvoting stock so that Zuckerberg can retain his current control of the company while donating 99% of his and his wife’s holdings in Facebook to charity during their lifetime.