Skip Navigation
Derek Thompson

Derek Thompson - Derek Thompson is a senior editor at The Atlantic, where he oversees business coverage for the website.
More

He is a visiting research fellow at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget at the New America Foundation. Derek has also written for Slate, BusinessWeek, and the Daily Beast. He has appeared as a guest on radio and television networks, including NPR, the BBC, CNBC, and MSNBC.

Infographic: What the Largest Social Media Companies Are Worth

By Derek Thompson
May 25 2011, 3:10 PM ET Comment

In 2010, LinkedIn made about $200 million in sales. In 2011, its stock price suggests a market cap of $9 billion. Trading at 45 times its revenue makes LinkedIn the highest price-revenue ratio of any stock in the world, said Espen Robak, president of the firm Pluris Valuation Advisors.

The rest of the social media brat pack is on the cusp of going public. Zynga's IPO could be weeks away. Facebook is expecting a $100 billion valuation by IPO in 2012. What kind of wild valuation multiples could we see from the next batch of upstarts? The cool chart below* answers that question. The upshot: Of the companies earning revenue, Twitter has the highest current revenue-valuation ratio.

GLG-TECHBUBBLE_Infographic.png
* To answer the question posed by the chart (Is there a tech bubble?) the best answer is: This chart doesn't have the answer. Investors are willing to pay the prices they're paying for private and public stock either because they believe they can get their money out before the market realizes there is a bubble (a risky strategy) or because they really think that these companies will grow quickly and eventually settle at mundane multiples, like Google and Microsoft. Graph courtesy of Gplus.


Presented by

More at The Atlantic

We, the Web Kids We, the Web Kids
The Spectacular Rise and Fall of U.S. Whaling: An Innovation Story The Spectacular Rise and Fall of U.S. Whaling
That Was Not the GOP Debate Rick Santorum Needed Santorum's Unhappy Night in Mesa
Sleigh Bells' Positive Rock For Sleigh Bells, Style Is the Point
Who Do You Trust Less: The NSA or Anonymous? Who Do You Trust Less: The NSA or Anonymous?

Join the Discussion

After you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be asked to log in or register.
blog comments powered by Disqus
Special Report
The Civil War National Portrait Gallery The Civil War
President Obama reflects on what Lincoln means to him and to America, in an introduction to our special issue. Read more ›
View All Correspondents

The Biggest Story in Photos

More From Carnival 2012

Feb 22, 2012

Subscribe Now

SAVE 59%! 10 issues JUST $2.45 PER COPY

Facebook

Newsletters

Sign up to receive our free newsletters

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)