Mark's article misses one key point. If it were a win then he wouldn't need to write a post defending it. A poorly performing stock price matters a great deal.

Mark's article misses one key point. If it were a win then he wouldn't need to write a post defending it. A poorly performing stock price matters a great deal. It matters in the leverage you have with partners, retaining senior leadership, hiring new employees and overall day to day morale in the office. So maximizing the short term cash ramp has left FB significantly exposed over the next 24 months. YHOO is a fantastic example of what happens if your company suddenly has the aura of "loser" in the Valley. (Hopefully they'll turn that around but jury's still out) So rather than absolutely maximize the short term gain FB could have found a middle ground that wouldn't make them the punching bag of the media resulting in long term risks to employee morale and retention.