LinkedIn Corp (LNKD) Q3 Financial Results above Estimates; Stock Rises

LinkedIn

The stock price LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) surged more than 12% to $243.50 per share during the extended trading on Thursday.

The company benefited from its third-quarter financial results that were above the estimates of Wall Street analysts.

LinkedIn achieved strong growth

In a statement, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner said, “LinkedIn delivered strong results in the third quarter, and recently announced several products focused on delivering increased member and customer value. Our commitment to investing in our long-term roadmap continues to lay the foundation for future growth of the company.”

During the third quarter, LinkedIn posted adjusted earnings of $0.78 per share compared with the $0.52 per share recorded in the same period a year ago. The company said its total revenue climbed 37% to $780 million including its $41 million revenue from Lynda.com.

Wall Street analysts expected LinkedIn to deliver earnings of $0.46 per share on $755.64 million in revenue based on data compiled by Yahoo! Finance.

According to LinkedIn its revenue from Talent Solutions increased 46% to $502 million. The company said hiring contributed $461 million in revenue and learning & development added $41 million in revenue.

The company’s revenue from marketing Solutions rose 28% to $140 million while its revenue from Premium Subscriptions increased 21% to $138 million. LinkedIn said its Sponsored Updates achieved more than 100% growth rate whiles its Sales Navigator continued to gain traction with large enterprises.

“LinkedIn achieved strong performance across all three product lines during the quarter. We remain focused on pursuing long-term investments to achieve future growth and increased profitability,” said Steve Sordello, CFO of the company.

Business outlook

For the fourth quarter, LinkedIn expected to generate adjusted earnings of approximately $0.74 per share, and estimated its revenue to be in the range of $845 million to $850 million.

For the full-year 2015, LinkedIn expected to report adjusted earnings of around $2.63 per share. The company estimated to achieve revenue between $2.975 billion and $2.980 billion.

Going forward in 2016, Mr. Weiner said they expect to accelerate their focus on integrating the company’s assets to help enterprises hire, market, and sell by using LinkedIn to connect to opportunity.