Inside source: Facebook pulled $2.5B in revenue

Facebook had a big 2011, continues to gear up for a 2012 IPO

I know this will come as a shock to you, so hold onto your chairs: It seems that Facebook has a lot of money.

Gawker Media has gained access to Facebook's financial reports, via an inside source, and has reported the company to be holding what I believe financial experts refer to as "gobs and gobs of cash."

Between January and September of 2011, Facebook pulled in $2.5 billion of revenue with $714 million of net income, with some speculating that they may pass the $1 billion mark in year-end profits. It's also got $3.5 billion of cash, with $1 billion of cashflow.

These kinds of reports have been leaking all year, and yet they never seem to amaze. True, they're not in league with companies like Apple, which reported $28.7 billion in revenue only for Q4 2011. But monies like these put Facebook in the ballpark of companies like Yahoo and eBay, and increase the possibility for the company to plan more acquisitions, like the six they made this year.

Those six companies bought by Facebook in 2011 were mobile advertising firm Rel8tion, group messaging company Beluga, mobile app developer Snaptu, information graphic company Daytum, software designers Sofa, and email prioritization company Mail Rank.

Facebook is gearing up for its public offering in 2012, one of the more high-profile IPOs in recent memory. Rumors have Facebook's IPO coming between April and June of next year, with the company raising $10 billion in the offering, putting it at a $100 billion valuation.

Rumors of the Facebook IPO have been swirling all year, though one could understand some trepidation on the company's part, as well as on investors' parts, given the roller coaster ride experienced in Groupon's high-profile $805 million IPO. Stock prices initially came out strong in Groupon's offering but then plummeted 42%, finally levelling off somewhat at $23.10.