LinkedIns shares surged more than 7% in extended trading in New York on Thursday as the professional social network announced growth picked up in the three months through June after five quarters of slowing sales and predicted better-than-expected performance in the third quarter.
The company announced on Thursday that Chief Executive Officer Jeff Weiners measures to spur growth helped boost revenue by 47% to $534 million in the second quarter, exceeding analysts projections of $511 and marking a hefty improvement from last years $363.7 million during the comparable period. Revenue rose by 46% in the first quarter. Moreover, LinkedIn projected third-quarter revenue to jump to $547 million, exceeding analysts forecast for $541.5 million.
Neil Doshi, an analyst at CRT Capital Group LLC, said, cited by Bloomberg: “For the past five quarters, they guided below Street estimates, and this is the first quarter for the past five quarters that they’ve guided above Street estimates – it’s definitely a positive.”
Profit excluding some items soared to 51 cents per share in the three months through June, beating expectations for 39 cents. However, the company scored a net loss of $1 million, compared to a net profit of of $3.7 million a year earlier, mainly due to the acquisition of Bright, a company that uses data to connect job prospects with employers.
Mr. Weiner said the company had delivered strong financial results, while maintaining investment. The social networks upbeat performance and guidance come as a result of the leaderships efforts to turn it into a global map of the worlds skills and opportunities from an online resume database. The company sees major growth prospects in China and has been investing in new smartphone applications and a subscription product for salespeople looking for new clients.
LinkedIns user base expanded to 313 million in the second quarter, up from 291 million in the three months through March. Although page views dropped to 25.4 billion from 26.9 billion in the first quarter, unique visitors increased. Mobile devices accounted for 45% of all traffic, up 2% from the previous three months.
The business social network, which makes money by selling services to recruiters looking for job candidates, instead of relying on advertisement, said that sales at its Talent Solutions unit accounted for 60% of its total revenue. Sales at the division soared by 49% to $322 million in the quarter, while advertising earned the company three times less. Advertising revenue rose by 44% to $106 million, while premium subscriptions accounted for $105 million of total revenue, up 44% from the preceding period.
LinkedIn Corp fell by 3.55% in New York on Thursday to $180.64 per share before the earnings were released, marking a one-year change of +15.19%. Shares were up 6.66% at $192.67 during Fridays pre-market trading. The company is valued at $21.99 billion. According to CNN Money, the 33 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for LinkedIn Corp have a median target of $225.00, with a high estimate of $280.00 and a low estimate of $141.00. The median estimate represents a +24.56% increase from the last price of $180.64.
TradingPedia.com is a financial media specialized in providing daily news and education covering Forex, equities and commodities. Our academies for traders cover 
