The Bull vs. Bear Case for LinkedIn

The LinkedIn story so far has been characterized by remarkable growth across all areas of the business. Some of the numbers, in fact, may astound you.

The company currently has more than 225 million registered members, and it's been able to grow sales at an annualized rate of 95% over the past two years. Investors who were lucky enough to buy shares at the IPO price of $45 have now seen gains of 306%. And the stock is up 59% already in 2013. Clearly, LinkedIn is on fire.

All that glitters may not be gold, however. Growth rates for LinkedIn are slowing, and there are legitimate concerns about the online engagement of all those members. Even the company itself admits that a substantial majority of its members do not visit its website on a monthly basis.

Most observers agree, however, that LinkedIn is a fine business. The key issue for investors is whether this company can continue to deliver outstanding returns over the long term.

We think there are good arguments on both sides of the debate over LinkedIn. In the presentation below, we've laid out both the bull and the bear case for the company.

To see the presentation in its entirety, just click the arrows within the embedded slideshow below. Alternatively, you can view each of the slides by clicking the link below the slideshow.

The Bull and Bear Case for LinkedIn from

To learn more about another stock that is poised to benefit from emerging trends, check out our latest free report: The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013. The company analyzed in the report was handpicked by The Motley Fool's Chief Investment Officer, who predicts it'll have an excellent year in 2013. You can access your free report by clicking here.

The article The Bull vs. Bear Case for LinkedIn originally appeared on Fool.com.

John Reeves owns shares of Google, Amazon.com, and LinkedIn. Fool contributor Pamela Peerce-Landers owns shares of Google. The Motley Fool recommends Amazon.com, Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn. The Motley Fool owns shares of Amazon.com, Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.