WebProNews

Financially speaking, Marc Andreessen believes Facebook's on the right track.  Today, the man with ties to Netscape, AOL, and Ning - and who also happens to sit on Facebook's board - supplied some big figures with respect to the social networking company.

Let's start with the current state of affairs.  Andreessen told Reuters, "This calendar year they'll do over $500 million."  Which isn't bad by any means.

Then there's a "what might be" scenario.  Andreessen continued, "If they pushed the throttle forward on monetization they would be doing more than a billion this year."  Better still.

And finally, even if Facebook pursues other things right now (Andreessen did indicate that growth's a higher priority), we arrive at a near-certain future.  "There's every reason to expect in my view that the thing can be doing billions in revenue five years from now," Andreessen said.

Facebook fans should be pleased to hear this news.  Employees and current investors are sure to take note, as well.

Given that Facebook recently named a new CFO, the timing of Andressen's comments might even indicate that an IPO is planned for the not-too-distant future, in which case plenty more people will get a chance to benefit.