(Reuters) - Facebook Inc reported its first quarter-to-quarter revenue slide in at least two years, a sign that the social network's sizzling growth may be cooling as it prepares to go public in the biggest ever Internet IPO.
The company blamed the first-quarter decline, which surprised some on Wall Street, on seasonal advertising trends.
"It was a faster slowdown than we would have guessed," said Brian Wieser, an analyst with Pivotal Research Group.
"No matter how you slice it, for a company that is perceived as growing so rapidly, to slow so much on whatever basis - sequentially or annually - it will be somewhat concerning to investors if faced with a lofty valuation," Wieser said.
