LinkedIn announces third quarter 2011 financial results

Categories: Earnings
LinkedIn logo

LinkedIn Corporate Communications

Mountain View, Calif. – November 3, 2011 –LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD), the world’s largest professional network on the Internet, today reported its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011:

  • Revenue for the third quarter was $139.5 million, an increase of 126% compared to $61.8 million for the third quarter of 2010
  • Net loss for the third quarter was $1.6 million, compared to net income of $4.0 million for the third quarter of 2010; Non-GAAP net income for the third quarter was $6.6 million, compared to $6.0 million for the third quarter of 2010. Non-GAAP measures exclude tax-effected stock-based compensation expense and tax-effected amortization of acquired intangible assets
  • Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter was $24.7 million, or 18% of revenue, compared to $11.1 million for the third quarter of 2010, or 18% of revenue
  • GAAP EPS for the third quarter was $(0.02); Non-GAAP EPS for the third quarter was $0.06
  • Members grew to 131.2 million, an increase of 63% from the third quarter of 2010
  • Average comScore unique visitors of 87.6 million per month, an increase of 64% from the third quarter of 2010; total comScore page views of 7.6 billion, an increase of 51% from the third quarter of 2010

“LinkedIn had a strong third quarter, with significant, broad-based growth across all of our revenue streams, member engagement metrics, geographies, and sales channels,” said Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn. “Our results underscore the long-term strength of our global platform and our business model.”

Third Quarter Financial Details and Operating Summary
LinkedIn reported revenue of $139.5 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2011, an increase of 126% compared to the third quarter of 2010, and the 8th straight quarter of accelerated revenue growth.

  • Hiring Solutions: Revenue from Hiring Solutions products totaled $71.0 million, an increase of 160% compared to the third quarter of 2010. Hiring Solutions revenue represented 51% of total revenue in the third quarter of 2011, compared to 48% in the second quarter of 2011 and 44% in the third quarter of 2010.
  • Marketing Solutions: Revenue from Marketing Solutions products totaled $40.1 million, an increase of 113% compared to the third quarter of 2010. Marketing Solutions revenue represented 29% of total revenue in the third quarter of 2011, compared to 32% in the second quarter of 2011 and 31% in the third quarter of 2010.
  • Premium Subscriptions: Revenue from Premium Subscriptions products totaled $28.4 million, an increase of 81% compared to the third quarter of 2010. Premium Subscriptions represented 20% of total revenue in the third quarter of 2011, compared to 20% in the second quarter of 2011 and 25% in the third quarter of 2010.

Revenue from the U.S. totaled $94.0 million, and represented 67% of total revenue in the third quarter of 2011. Revenue from international totaled $45.5 million, and represented 33% of total revenue in the third quarter of 2011.

Revenue from the field sales channel totaled $74.5 million, and represented 53% of total revenue in the third quarter of 2011. Revenue from the online, direct sales channel totaled $65.0 million, and represented 47% of total revenue in the third quarter of 2011.

GAAP net loss for the third quarter was $1.6 million, compared to net income of $4.0 million for the third quarter of 2010. Non-GAAP net income for the third quarter was $6.6 million, compared to $6.0 million in the third quarter of 2010.

Adjusted EBITDA was $24.7 million in the third quarter of 2011, or 18% of revenue, compared to $11.1 million in the third quarter of 2010, or 18% of revenue.

GAAP EPS was $(0.02) based on 96.3 million fully-diluted weighted shares outstanding compared to $0.02 for the third quarter of 2010 based on 46.6 million fully-diluted weighted shares outstanding; Non-GAAP EPS was $0.06 based on 107.5 million fully-diluted weighted shares outstanding compared to $0.07 for the third quarter of 2010 based on 92.2 million fully-diluted weighted shares outstanding.

“The company posted its eighth straight quarter of accelerated revenue growth and achieved record engagement on the LinkedIn platform,” said Steve Sordello, CFO of LinkedIn. “We delivered strong adjusted EBITDA and record levels of operating and free cash flow. LinkedIn plans to maintain a long-term perspective with investment in our key strategic areas.”

For additional information, please see the “Selected Company Metrics and Financials” page, updated through the end of the third quarter of 2011, on LinkedIn’s Investor Relations site. 

Third Quarter Highlights and Strategic Announcements

  • LinkedIn unveiled revamped mobile apps for iOS and Android, as well as a new mobile web experience. Mobile page views are up more than 400% year over year, and accounted for more than 10% of total LinkedIn page views and more than 12% of total unique visits in the quarter.
  • LinkedIn extended its platform with the launch of Apply with LinkedIn, which allows any company or organization to let people apply for jobs using their LinkedIn profile and leverage their LinkedIn connections. Hundreds of thousands of job applications have been submitted to date through Apply with LinkedIn.
  • LinkedIn introduced new profile sections designed to enable students and recent college graduates, the site’s fastest-growing demographic, to add projects, awards, and coursework experience to their professional profiles.
  • LinkedIn added to its European presence with the opening of its first office in Germany. Including the opening of an office in Japan in October 2011, LinkedIn now has 14 offices outside the United States.

Business Outlook
As of today, LinkedIn is providing guidance for the fourth quarter of 2011 and updating guidance for the full year 2011 on both revenue and adjusted EBITDA. LinkedIn is also initiating guidance for depreciation & amortization and stock-based compensation.

  • Q4 FY11 Guidance: Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2011 is projected to be in the range of $154 million to $158 million. For the fourth quarter of 2011, the company expects to report adjusted EBITDA of $19 million to $21 million. The company expects depreciation and amortization in the range of $14 million to $16 million, and stock-based compensation in the range of $10 million to $12 million.
  • Full Year FY11 Guidance: Revenue for the full year of 2011 is projected to be in the range of $508 million to $512 million. For the full year of 2011, the company expects to report adjusted EBITDA of $83 million to $85 million. The company expects depreciation and amortization in the range of $43 million to $45 million, and stock based-compensation in the range of $29 million to $31 million

Quarterly Conference Call
LinkedIn plans to host a webcast/conference call to discuss its third quarter 2011 financial results and business outlook today at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Jeff Weiner and Steve Sordello will host the webcast, which can be viewed on the investor relations section of the LinkedIn website at http://investors.linkedin.com/. This call will contain forward-looking statements and other material information regarding the company's financial and operating results. Following completion of the call, a recorded replay of the webcast will be available on the website. For those without access to the Internet, a replay of the call will be available beginning at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on November 3, 2011 through November 10, 2011 at 9:00 p.m. Pacific Time. To listen to the telephone replay, call (855) 859-2056, access code 18194888.

About LinkedIn
Founded in 2003, LinkedIn connects the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful. With more than 135 million members worldwide, including executives from every Fortune 500 company, LinkedIn is the world's largest professional network on the Internet. The company has a diversified business model with revenue coming from member subscriptions, marketing solutions and hiring solutions. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, LinkedIn also has offices across North America, as well as throughout Europe, Asia and Australia.