Yep that's the whole point. Apple's value is based on a solid record, while Facebook's is extremely speculative.

They may continue to grow or they may tank. People are betting for the former, but so far with very little real knowledge of what they're doing.

Tech is usually fickle and high-risk, but Facebook is in a league of its own.

Facebook's earnings are via a controlled ecosystem. You can't maintain higher profits that way. You can have short-term higher profits that way - just not maintain them.

Should facebook be considered an upstart when it's been around for 8 years?

It's not about whether they can be considered an "upstart" it's about whether speculators think they have the potential to make much more money than they already do. Amazon for example has been around for 2 decades and have a PE ratio of 179 because they've put nearly all their profits into investing in new businesses that has a lot of potential to make more money down the road.

Meanwhile, Facebook is investing in things like Instagram, lol.

... spending all their 2011 profits: http://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-files-ipo-reveals-...