LinkedIn’s Q1 2012 Earnings Call

We’d like to share with you the announcement related to our 2012 first quarter earnings. We’ll also be live sharing the earnings call from @linkedin, starting 2PM Pacific Time later today. – Ed.

Today, we report our financial results for a strong 2012 first quarter, an increase of 101% compared to the first quarter of 2011, and the 7th straight quarter of greater than 100% year-over-year growth.

Here are the key highlights:

  • Revenue for the first quarter was $188.5 million, an increase of 101% compared to $93.9 million in the first quarter of 2011.
  • Net income for the first quarter was $5.0 million, compared to net income of $2.1 million for the first quarter 2011.  Non-GAAP net income for the first quarter was $16.9 million, compared to $5.8 million for the first 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 first quarter was $38.1 million, or 20% of revenue, compared to $13.3 million for the first quarter of 2011, or 14% of revenue.
  • GAAP EPS for the first quarter was $0.04; Non-GAAP EPS for the first quarter was $0.15.

As our CEO, Jeff Weiner, said earlier today, LinkedIn’s solid performance in the first quarter was built on the company’s momentum in 2011. We also saw strength across all key metrics from member signups and engagement to significant revenue growth across our three product lines.

  • Hiring Solutions: Revenue from Hiring Solutions products totaled $102.6 million, an increase of 121% compared to the first quarter of 2011.  Hiring Solutions revenue represented 54% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2012, compared to 49% in the first quarter of 2011.
  • Marketing Solutions: Revenue from Marketing Solutions products totaled $48.0 million, an increase of 73% compared to the first quarter of 2011.  Marketing Solutions revenue represented 26% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2012, compared to 30% in the first quarter of 2011.
  • Premium Subscriptions: Revenue from Premium Subscriptions products totaled $37.9 million, an increase of 91% compared to the first quarter of 2011. Premium Subscriptions represented 20% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2012, compared to 21% of revenue in the first quarter of 2011.

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

We’re also hosting a webcast / conference call to discuss our financial results for the first quarter of 2012 and business outlook today at 2:00PM Pacific Time.

I will co-host the webcast with Jeff Weiner, which can be viewed on the investor relations section of the LinkedIn website as well.

See slides below.

[slideshare id=12789367&doc=earningsdeck2012q1final-120503125442-phpapp01]

[1]

Safe Harbor 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 and additional details regarding the use of non-GAAP measures at http://investors.linkedin.com/.

This post also contains forward-looking statements about our products, including our planned investments in 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 second quarter of 2012 and the full fiscal year 2012. 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.

If any such 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. Please also see our full disclaimer regarding this information as well.