LinkedIn reports after the bell Thursday, and with the stock up 51 percent year-to-date, but down nearly 7 percent on Wednesday, investors are wondering if it will remain a rare success story in the volatile Internet space.

LinkedIn’s performance since its IPO stands in stark contrast to Facebook’s: Its stock has more than doubled.

While Facebook leans on advertising and its payments business is flat, LinkedIn has three revenue streams: recruiting tools, premium subscriptions, and advertising. Facebook may be the fun socializing toy to LinkedIn’s buttoned up business tool, but being "boring" seems to be winning over investors.

Wall Street expects LinkedIn to report earnings-per-share of 15 cents, 54 percent higher than a year ago on 78 percent higher revenue of $216 million. Investors will also be watching for indication of user engagement — the growth in unique visitors.

Another key number is LinkedIn’s margins. We expect LinkedIn’s growth to slow — in the first quarter it had 101 percent revenue growth over the prior year. The question is when that growth will pick up again, and where that growth will come from.

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