LinkedIn soars on earnings beat
SAN FRANCISCO — Shares of LinkedIn jumped 7% Friday after Street-beating results and a brighter sales outlook.
Sales (LNKD) rose 35% to $861 million in the first quarter, the company said late Thursday. Analysts had expected $827 million, according to analysts polled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Earnings excluding some items were 74 cents per share. Analysts expected 60 cents.
LinkedIn said the revenue jump was driven by talent solutions, up 41% to $557.65 million. Marketing solutions revenue increased 29%, while premium subscriptions revenue increased 22%.
"LinkedIn delivered strong financial results and growth across our core product lines," CEO Jeff Weiner said in a statement. "As a result of our new mobile experience, members are increasing their activity on LinkedIn, helping drive strong levels of engagement across the platform."
When the professional networking company reported fourth-quarter results in February, its shares plunged 44% in one day on its disappointing outlook for 2016. Shares have lost more than half their value so far this year.
On Thursday, LinkedIn issued more favorable guidance. The company said second-quarter profit will be between 74 cents and 77 cents a share excluding some items, better than the 71 cents analysts estimated.
LinkedIn increased its full-year revenue guidance to $3.65 billion to $3.70 billion, from $3.6 billion to $3.65 billion. Analysts had expected $3.7 billion.
"We are off to a good start in 2016 with strength in our core and emerging businesses," Steve Sordello, CFO of LinkedIn, said in a statement. "We continue to invest heavily in innovation and in our core products, while at the same time driving focus and scale to enable growth and leverage across the business."