Could Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iWatch Make Yelp Inc (YELP) Investors Rich?

For 2013, net revenue is expected to be in the range of $216 million – $218 million, up 58% over 2012 levels.. Yelp’s strong revenue growth is reflected in its stock price which is up approximately 145%, since its March 2012 IPO.

Despite the rapid appreciation in Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP)’s share price, there is reason for continued bullishness in the company. Right now it appears that wearable computing might be the next big catalyst in mobile. If these wearable expectations hold true, we can expect to see voice search move rapidly toward the mainstream. (Typed search would be too unwieldy on a small, wearable device.)

The integration of Yelp into Siri gives company a virtual monopoly for local business search on Apple’s iOS platform — a potential competitive advantage that could prove extremely lucrative to Yelp.

The obvious risk to this investment thesis is its tie to the success of Apple’s wearable products. That said, it makes sense for investors to closely track the expected launch of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s wearable products as a way of evaluating the potential of Yelp’s stock upside.

The Foolish Bottom Line

Since the demise of Ping, Apple appears to have shifted its social media strategy to focus on integrating existing media into its products. Potentially lucrative investment opportunities exist for the investors who are able to identify social media company’s that can materially profit from their integration into Apple’s products. Yelp might be such a company.

Potential Yelp investors should track adoption rates of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s wearable computing products, as high adoption rates could point to significant upside for Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) stock.

The article Could Apple’s iWatch Make Yelp Investors Rich? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Bill Shambllin.

Bill Shambllin owns shares of Yelp and Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple. Bill 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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