Social Network With No Revenue or Assets Somehow Worth $4.75 Billion
Perhaps CYNK is proof that we're in a tech bubble. Or maybe investors are getting taken for a ride. Either way, a Belize-based "social networking" startup that has no assets, no revenue, no members, and one employee has seen its value shoot up 27,066 percent in the last month.
The rising stock has put the company's market cap north of $4.75 billion—more than real (if not terrible) companies such as Groupon and Zynga. But no one has heard of CYNK. And for good reason: according to Business Insider, their "social network" is garbage and making no money.
The website associated with the company is introbiz.com. On introbiz.com, under the "About IntroBiz" section, it states that, "Thru our marketplace you may both buy and sell the ability to socially connect to individuals such as celebrities, business owners, and talented IT professionals."
This premise, as we understand it, is basically a Facebook-like social network where you would pay IntroBiz (or CYNK, or whoever), to connect you with someone else. [...]
According to data on Yahoo Finance, the company reported no revenue for any of its fiscal years ended on Dec. 31 2011, 2012, or 2013. This data also shows that the company's total operating loss for 2013 totaled $1.5 million.
Zero Hedge dug up CYNK's bleak 10-K statement. The company itself acknowledges they are losing money and warns of the potential of a "possibly closure of our busiess [sic]."
We have not yet commenced our full scale business operations and we have not yet realized any revenues.
We have minimal operating history upon which an evaluation of our future prospects can be made. Based upon current plans, we expect to incur operating losses in future periods as we incurred significant expenses associated with the initial startup of our business. Further, we cannot guarantee that we will be successful in realizing revenues or in achieving or sustaining positive cash flow at any time in the future. Any such failure could result in the possible closure of our busiess or force us to seek additional capital through loans or additional sales of our equity securities to continue business operations.
And yet Wall Street is juicing the stock to obscene levels.
It's not entirely clear what is happening. Seeking Alpha reports that paid stock promoters were pimping the stock in mid-June, which explains their initial jump in value. But what has happened since remains a mystery.
Is it a case of Wall Street tech hubris pumping up the value of a worthless company, 2000-style? Or is this just a genius stock scam? Bloomberg's Nick Summers isn't convinced it's either:
It's a penny stock with so little volume that a few trades can send its price skyrocketing, or plummeting. In theory, all its shares together, priced at its current $41, add up to a market value of $5 billion, more than a bunch of recognizable, legitimate companies. In practice, that means nothing: No one is actually going to fork over that much money and risk going broke if the entire operation proves to be a phantom.
Regardless, Marlon Luis Sanchez, CYNK's "president, CEO, CFO, chief accounting officer, secretary, treasurer, and director" is proving to be one of tech's most effective do-nothing founders.