By this time tomorrow, the social networking website LinkedIn, will have launched it’s Initial Public Offering (IPO). That means the business will be selling shares of stock in its corporation, taking it from public to private.
Of note, LinkedIn is presently becoming valued at least $four billion dollars but is expected to lose cash this year. The explanation is since they will be reinvesting heavily back into the company. Any enterprise owner ought to be familiar with this, but this is going to cause some concern amongst investors. News like this makes investors flashback to 1999 and wonder if this is an additional bubble that will burst. A lot of this concern also comes from the truth that this is the very first time a social media corporation is going public.
LinkedIn is no ordinary social media platform. Feel of it like your electronic rolodex. Its revenue is mostly based on enterprise subscriptions, not ads, so there is considerable recurring income. Also, the users are generally on LinkedIn for diverse factors.
Although the demographics may mirror those of Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn users are far more most likely to be on the internet for organization networking and job hunting. Although there are functions to link your blogs, personal web sites, and other social media links, LinkedIn is noticed as the more “professional” social media platform.
You can check out my LinkedIn profile here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wendystewart
If you want to buy shares of LinkedIn, Fox Business News predicts the price to be between $25-$45. That’s not bad taking into consideration a share of Apple is at present trading at about $339 and a share of Google is trading at just over $526 per share.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2011/05/17/linkedin-feeds-investor-appetite-30-cost-hike/
But don’t let all of this info scare you in anyway. Think about acquisition of a company such as LinkedIn as merely a part of your overall portfolio. If you are not familiar with the platform, check it out — it is free of charge to sign up — and be willing to let it go if it looks like it is dragging down your portfolio following at least 5 years.
Remember, I’m not certified to sell or purchase stocks so check with your financial skilled when it comes to creating these kinds of financial decisions, specifically if this will impact your retirement savings and investing.
What do you think about this? Are you on LinkedIn and do you care if the organization goes public? Could this be an addition to the tech component of your portfolio? Do you even care? =) Let’s discuss.
Blessings,
Wendy Stewart
http://twitter.com/wendystewart
Tags: investing, ipo, linkedin, personal finance, portfolio, social media, stocks, tech bubble