Social networking
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is being challenged on several fronts by Tumblr, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google Plus. It does not have the moat nor the first mover advantage of LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD), the professional and career social network, nor is it the gold standard for job seekers and employers, which has helped LinkedIn double in two years.
The company has grown from 30 million subscribers in 2008 to 270 million now, and analysts foresee 65% five year EPS growth. Total revenues has grown from $81.7 million in 2010 to $972.3 million in 2012.
Setting up a LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) profile is free, but paid memberships offer advantages like adding video and graphics and knowing who sees the profile.
It also offers valuable content from Influencers, leaders in business and politics, including Sir Richard Branson, President Obama, and Meg Whitman, who provide unpaid opinion pieces. The company hopes this content will boost its Marketing Solutions (i.e. advertising) segment, which is currently only driving a quarter of revenues.
The Foolish takeaway
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has the lowest P/E of all these companies at 9.96 with no debt and a yield of 3.10%. It is the battleground stock of the tech world, despite its undeniable position as a value name now. While people may not queue up for an iWatch, it is just the first iteration of “ubiquitous computing.”
eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) comes in as the next most reasonable name with a trailing P/E of 26.14. For the price of PayPal you are getting the auction site for free.
Both LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) and Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) have high trailing P/Es at 737.60 and 551.72, respectively. However, they are first movers in their trends. Rivals will find their dominance hard to challenge.
Lastly, Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS)’ strategic buys have made it the leader in at home 3-D printing. At a forward P/E of 36.08 and a PEG of 1.44 it’s positioned for further gains.
These trends should only accelerate, but bear close watching for upstart competition and new developments. This list should give you a starting point for your own due diligence.
The article Five Tech Trends You Cannot Ignore originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by AnnaLisa Kraft.
AnnaLisa Kraft has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple, eBay, LinkedIn, Netflix, and Stratasys. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple, eBay, LinkedIn, Netflix, and Stratasys. AnnaLisa is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
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