YouTube’s profitability has long been questioned, but whether or not the video site makes money for Google, it is certainly worth a lot of money. According to Bank of America analyst Justin Post, who shared a note reported by Bloomberg and others, YouTube is worth more than $70 billion.
YouTube’s valuation is driven by its increasing revenue. Post and his team said the site’s revenue will grow 34% to $8.2 billion in 2015 and will reach $13 billion by 2017. Should YouTube meet those figures, it will double its revenue between 2014 and 2014.
The $70 billion valuation amounts to close to one-fifth of the $370 billion Google is worth. The search giant paid $1.65 billion to acquire YouTube back in 2006.
As Bloomberg notes, the $70 valuation makes YouTube worth more than all but 66 companies in the S&P 500. Post says YouTube could be worth as much as $90 billion; at $80 billion, it would surpass seven more S&P 500 companies, and at $90 billion, it would surpass another four.
YouTube’s valuation has increased steadily upward during the first decade of its existence. In July 2013, Barclays said YouTube could be worth as much as $21.3 billion. Then, in September 2014, a report from Jeffries Marketing pegged the site’s value at approximately $40 billion.
More information from Post’s analysis is available over at Bloomberg.
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