LinkedIn crushes earnings — much to Microsoft's delight (LNKD, MSFT)

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In what's poised to be one of its last earnings releases as an independent company, LinkedIn reported stronger-than-expected growth during Q2 2016, propelled by increased premium memberships and recruiting tools. 

The networking platform's revenue grew 31% year-over-year (YoY) to about $933 million, exceeding analyst expectations of $898 million. All three of the company's segments — talent solutions (a division that helps recruiters seek potential job candidates), marketing solutions (ad revenue), and premium subscriptions — reported double-digit YoY growth.

Total membership rose 4% from Q1 to 450 million, while the monthly active user base remained stagnant sequentially at 106 million members (though that was a 9% gain YoY).  

LinkedIn’s recent growth comes as welcome news for Microsoft, which officially agreed to purchase the networking platform for $26.2 billion in June. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year. LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner said that joining forces with Microsoft will only further accelerate their growth while increasing the platform's global scale.

Here are some other highlights of LinkedIn’s Q2 earnings release.

• Sponsored content continues to drive ad revenue. About two-thirds of LinkedIn’s Q2 2016 revenue came from its talent-solutions division, which helps recruiters seek potential job candidates, and ad revenue also grew substantially. Falling under the Marketing Solutions segment, ads brought in $181 million in Q2 2016, up 29% YoY, thanks to increased customer demand for sponsored content. Sponsored content alone  accounted for just over 60% of the company’s marketing solutions revenue. LinkedIn shut down its off-LinkedIn display ad network in February to increase its focus in sponsored content.
• Late to the party, LinkedIn finally moves into the video space. Earlier this week, LinkedIn launched a new app for a select group of "Influencers" – a group of 500-plus leaders and innovators with a substantial number of followers – to create and post videos lasting 30-seconds-or-less directly into the platform’s main news feed. For example, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella could post his thoughts on Microsoft acquiring LinkedIn, and share it amongst those following him on LinkedIn. Video has overwhelmingly become a growth factor to drive premium video based advertising revenue for social giants such as Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat.
• LinkedIn can use video to keep users engaged, something the company has been struggling with for some time. While LinkedIn touts 450 million total members, only 24% use the platform on a monthly basis. By comparison, Twitter has 313 million monthly active users as of its Q2 Earnings release last week. Engaging videos with key influencers outlining developing trends, addressing leadership challenges or simply answering relevant questions could be enough to draw more of its members to the platform on a regular basis, especially if the format expands to its general user base in the future. However, as of now, there is no way to monetize the broadcast of videos. But given LinkedIn’s efforts to build out its advertising business, it would be no surprise if the networking platform implemented efforts such as pre-, mid- and post-roll ads or associated fees in the near future as it begins to gain traction through its vast user base.

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