14 DAY TRIAL // Everyone loves to play the guessing game when it comes to Facebook's, and other social networks', revenue and worth. Some are more informed than others, but at the end of the day, without any official figures, all they can do is speculate. Not that this is stopping anyone and the Wall Street Journal is revealing (subscrition required) some of the numbers private market advisory firm NYPPEX has come up with.
The firm uses data from internal share transactions and deals made with private-equity companies to estimate what Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are worth. The social networks have had a very varied price tag put on them over time, but these numbers seem as accurate as it is reasonably possible at this time.
NYPPEX says that Facebook is worth about $7.6 billion, a rather conservative figure but one in line with previous estimations. Most recently Facebook has been valued at $10 billion when Russian investment firm DST bought a small stake in the social network. However, the same firm also bought common shares from Facebook employees at a lower $6 billion valuation.
LinkedIn, a social network geared at professionals which has passed 50 million users recently, is estimated to be worth $1.25 billion, again, a conservative number. Finally, Twitter, the microblogging / social networking site which has taken the web by storm in 2009, is believed to be worth $1.13 billion.
The consultancy firm also provides revenue estimates for next year. Facebook is expected to bring in $710 million in revenue a rather modest growth, up from $500 million to $550 million in 2009, though these figures aren't official either. LinkedIn's estimated revenue for 2010 is at 205 million double the one projected for the current year. There isn't any estimate for Twitter's revenue, mostly because there isn't any to speak of at the moment. The microblogging service is expected to start generating some income next year, but for 2009 it will bring in a few million dollars, with estimates ranging from $1 million to $4 million.