LinkedIn Remains Profitable In Another Quarter

James Johnson

Aug. 03, 2012
1 min read

There was a lot of doubt from analysts and users when LinkedIn decided to launch its initial public offering (IPO) however the company has since proven its business model and in Q2 2012 the company once again reported a profit.

In a letter to investors Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn noted:

“LinkedIn had a strong second quarter with all of our key operating and financial metrics showing solid performance. Our ongoing investment in product innovation drove healthy engagement as measured by unique visiting members and member page views, and our three revenue streams all experienced significant growth.”

Those unique visitors now number 175 million members while the business reported a 107% increase in revenue from its hiring solutions platform, up to $121.6 million for 53% of the social networks total revenue. In the same period of 2011 hiring solutions accounted for 48% of the networks revenue.

In a statement to investors linked in posted the following financial information:

Revenue for the second quarter was $228.2 million, an increase of 89% compared to $121.0 million in the second quarter of 2011.

Net income for the second quarter was $2.8 million, compared to net income of $4.5 million for the second quarter of 2011. Non-GAAP net income for the second quarter was $18.1 million, compared to $10.8 million for the second quarter of 2011. Non-GAAP measures exclude tax-affected stock-based compensation expense and tax-affected amortization of acquired intangible assets.

Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $50.4 million, or 22% of revenue, compared to $26.3 million for the second quarter of 2011, or 22% of revenue.

GAAP EPS for the second quarter was $0.03; Non-GAAP EPS for the second quarter was $0.16.

Throw in $63.1 million for marketing solutions and $43.5 million for premium subscriptions and its easy to see why LinkedIn continues to make a profit thanks to a diverse set of money making ventures that fall outside of traditional and often volatile marketing methodologies.