Linkedin share price jumps as revenue beats expectations
Linkedin's second quarter figures exceeded expectations by a long way, and investors were delighted.
The figures
From April to June, the professional networking site's revenue was $712m (£456m) – a 33.3 per cent increase from the year before. This was better than the $680m analysts were expecting.
Earnings per share were equally pleasing, reaching 55 cents – almost double the market expectation of 30 cents.
Shares initially surged 12 per cent in after-hours trading following the news, and have now settled at $ 227.39, which is 2.7 per cent higher than at the last close.
Looking ahead, the company expects revenue in the third quarter to fall between $745m and $750m.
Why it's interesting
Today's results are a big pick up from the company's situation earlier in the year. In April, its stock plummeted by as much as 25 per cent after its revenue estimates were lowered for the second quarter.
Most of the change since then comes down to the success of the company's “Talent Solutions” products that help recruiters find better candidates for jobs.
Linkedin has also been spending large sums on acquisitions and growing its sales and development teams. Most recently it spent $1.5bn on online education company lynda.com
What Linkedin said
Chief executive Jeff Weiner commented:
LinkedIn continued to deliver increased member and customer value in the second quarter while delivering solid financial results.We continued to invest in our long-term strategic roadmap and began integrating the acquisition of lynda.com that closed during the quarter.
In short
Linkedin's recent activities have brought about a swift change in its fortunes. How its acquisitions play out in the long run will be interesting to watch.