Mark Zuckerberg Says Facebook Stock Had Been Disappointing

Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of the social networking giant Facebook, discussed his company’s disappointing stock performance, among other topics at a California tech conference. He also discussed his fighting spirit and how lower expectations will benefit the company as he proves critics wrong.

Zuckerberg told the conference on Tuesday:

“I would rather be in a cycle where people underestimate us. I think it gives us the latitude to go out and make some big bets. Facebook has not been an uncontroversial company. It’s not like this is the first up and down we have ever had. We have a pretty good compass. I always like to think that when folks are being too nice, we aren’t as good as they say they are. And when the media is being too critical, we are not as bad as they say we are.”

Zuckerberg took the opportunity to speak to the standing room only crowd in San Francisco which is the first time he has spoken publicly since Facebook went public back in May. Since May, Facebook has lost almost half of its value.

Zuckerberg had to admit that the stock price drop was “obviously disappointing,” indicating it was times like these where there is a great opportunity to “double down” on Facebook.

Investors are worried that Facebook will continue to face struggles in an attempt to expand profits from the site at a time where mobile use is sharply on the rise. Mobile use produces a fraction of the revenue from the actual site.

Zuckerberg said it was “really easy for folks to underestimate how really fundamentally good mobile is for us.”

It was also one of the first time’s Zuckerberg acknowledged that making money was a big part of the company as well as the social connectivity it provides.