LinkedIn product

LinkedIn’s Q4 2013 Earnings

Editor’s Note: We’d like to share with you the announcement related to our 2013 fourth quarter earnings. We’ll also be providing live updates from the earnings call on StockTwits starting at 2pm Pacific Time today.

Today, we reported our financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2013. Solid fourth quarter performance capped another successful year where improvements in scale and relevance across our platform led to strong member engagement.

  • Revenue for the fourth quarter was $447.2 million, an increase of 47% compared to $303.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.

  • Net income for the fourth quarter was $3.8 million, compared to net income of $11.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2012. Non-GAAP net income for the fourth quarter was $48.2 million, compared to $40.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2012. Non-GAAP measures exclude tax-affected stock-based compensation expense and tax-affected amortization of acquired intangible assets.

  • Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $111.4 million, or 25% of revenue, compared to $78.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2012, or 26% of revenue.

  • GAAP diluted EPS for the fourth quarter was $0.03, compared to GAAP diluted EPS of $0.10 for the fourth quarter 2012; non-GAAP diluted EPS for the fourth quarter was $0.39, compared to non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.35 for the fourth quarter of 2012.

Moving forward, we are investing significantly in a focused number of long-term initiatives that will allow us to realize our vision to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.

  • Talent Solutions: Revenue from Talent Solutions products totaled $245.6 million, an increase of 53% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. Talent Solutions revenue represented 55% of total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2013, compared to 53% in the fourth quarter of 2012.

  • Marketing Solutions: Revenue from Marketing Solutions products totaled $113.5 million, an increase of 36% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. Marketing Solutions revenue represented 25% of total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2013, compared to 27% in the fourth quarter of 2012.

  • Premium Subscriptions: Revenue from Premium Subscriptions products totaled $88.1 million, an increase of 48% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. Premium Subscriptions represented 20% of total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2013 and 2012.

I highly encourage you to review associated materials, including our GAAP and non-GAAP reconciliation. [1]

I will co-host a webcast/conference call with our CEO Jeff Weiner to discuss our financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2013 and business outlook today at 2:00PM Pacific Time.

See slides below.

[1] Safe Harbour Statement

This post contains non-GAAP financials measures relating to the company's performance. You can find the reconciliation of those measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures at http://investors.linkedin.com/ and additional details regarding the use of non-GAAP measures below.  This presentation also contains forward-looking statements about our products, including our investments in products, technology and other key strategic areas, certain non-financial metrics, such as member growth and engagement, and our expected financial metrics such as revenue, adjusted EBITDA, depreciation and amortization and stock-based compensation for the first quarter of 2014 and the full fiscal year 2014. The achievement of the matters covered by such forward-looking statements involves risks, uncertainties and assumptions.  If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize or if any of the assumptions prove incorrect, the company’s results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements the company makes.

The risks and uncertainties referred to above include - but are not limited to - risks associated with: our limited operating history in a new and unproven market; engagement of our members; the price volatility of our Class A common stock; general economic conditions; expectations regarding the return on our strategic investments; execution of our plans and strategies, including with respect to mobile products and features; security measures and the risk that they may not be sufficient to secure our member data adequately or that we are  subject to attacks that degrade or deny the ability of members to access our solutions; expectations regarding our ability to timely and effectively scale and adapt existing technology and network infrastructure to ensure that our  solutions are accessible at all times with short or no perceptible load times; our ability to maintain our rate of revenue growth and manage our expenses and investment plans; our ability to accurately track our key metrics internally; members and customers curtailing or ceasing to use our solutions; our core value of putting members first, which may conflict with the short-term interests of the business; privacy and changes in regulations in the United States, Europe or elsewhere, which could impact our ability to serve our members or curtail our monetization efforts; litigation and regulatory issues; increasing competition; our ability to manage our growth; our ability to recruit and retain our employees; the application of US and international tax laws on our tax structure and any changes to such tax laws; acquisitions we have made or may make in the future; and the dual class structure of our common stock.

Further information on these and other factors that could affect the company’s financial results is included in filings it makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, as well as the company’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, and additional information will also be set forth in our Form 10-K that will be filed for the year ended December 31, 2013, which should be read in conjunction with these financial results.  These documents are or will be available on the SEC Filings section of the Investor Relations page of the company's website at http://investors.linkedin.com/.  All information provided in this presentation is as of February 6, 2014, and LinkedIn undertakes no duty to update this information.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement its consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, the company uses the following non-GAAP financial measures: adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income, and non-GAAP diluted EPS (collectively the “non-GAAP financial measures”). The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. The company uses these non-GAAP financial measures for financial and operational decision making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. The company believes that they provide useful information about operating results, enhance the overall understanding of past financial performance and future prospects, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision making.

The company excludes the following items from one or more of its non-GAAP measures:

Stock-based compensation. The company excludes stock-based compensation because it is non-cash in nature and because the company believes that the non-GAAP financial measures excluding this item provide meaningful supplemental information regarding operational performance and liquidity. The company further believes this measure is useful to investors in that it allows for greater transparency to certain line items in its financial statements and facilitates comparisons to competitors' operating results.

Amortization of acquired intangible assets. The company excludes amortization of acquired intangible assets because it is non-cash in nature and because the company believes that the non-GAAP financial measures excluding this item provide meaningful supplemental information regarding operational performance and liquidity. In addition, excluding this item from various non-GAAP measures facilitates internal comparisons to historical operating results and comparisons to competitors' operating results.

Income tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments. The company adjusts non-GAAP net income by including the income tax effects of excluding stock-based compensation and the amortization of acquired intangible assets. The company believes that the inclusion of the income tax effects provides additional transparency to the overall or “after tax” effects of excluding these items from non-GAAP net income.

For more information on the non-GAAP financial measures, please see the “Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures” table in this press release. This accompanying table has more details on the GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures and the related reconciliations between these financial measures. Additionally, the company has not reconciled adjusted EBITDA guidance to net income guidance because it does not provide guidance for either other income (expense), net, or provision for income taxes, which are reconciling items between net income and adjusted EBITDA. As items that impact net income are out of the company's control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted, the company is unable to provide such guidance. Accordingly, a reconciliation to net income is not available without unreasonable effort.