(San Francisco)
Two of Instagram’s founders have just left Facebook on acrimonious terms. The departures come six years after their company was bought by Facebook for about $1bn. They are leaving on poor terms because of recent changes Facebook has made which seem to prioritize Facebook’s growth at the expense of Instagram. Many analysts say the departures are a considerable negative for the stock, especially coming as part of a long string of troubles. There is also a serious threat that the two founders may come up with a competing product. Instagram accounted for 14% of Facebook’s revenue, or about $7.5 bn this year.
FINSUM: We don’t think a competing product is a worry, at least not yet. But image-wise, it does look like Facebook is a bit out of control.