Hmm: No-Revenue Instagram’s Worth $1 Billion? Shutterfly, 2012 Sales of $576 Million, With Profits

In the latest issue of Forbes, Eric Savitz argues that investors are overlooking a great digital play: Shutterfly (SFLY). It’s making money turning our billions of digital snaps into photo books, calendars and coffee mugs. If Facebook (FB) is buying money-losing Instagram for $1 billion, shouldn’t Shutterfly be worth much more?

SFLY Market Cap data by YCharts

While you can use your phone to take Instagram pictures all day long, charts make clear that Shutterfly’s favorite holiday is Christmas:

SFLY Revenue data by YCharts

And it’s been making money playing Santa:

SFLY Net Income data by YCharts

YCharts Pro says it’s trading almost a third below its historical multiples, though still at a very high PE ratio that implies investors expect tons of growth ahead:

SFLY PE Ratio data by YCharts

Savitz says investors are concerned about competition from Facebook, Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) or Google (GOOG). Don’t forget about Walgreens (WAG), which the Chicago Tribune says is eager to get more budding photographers in the store.

But judging from the photos flooding my Twitter and Facebook feeds -- from camping trips to artsy shots of the sky -- there's no shortage of photos, enough opportunity for everyone.

Emily Lambert is an editor for the YCharts Pro Investor Service which includes professional stock charts, stock ratings and portfolio strategies.