Shares of LinkedIn Corp jumped on Thursday after the professional networking service reported a loss in the second quarter, but still topped analysts’ expectations.
The results come on the heels of better-than-expected quarterly reports from Twitter Inc and Facebook Inc that increased investor interest in social media companies in recent weeks.
LinkedIn posted a loss of US$1 million, or US$0.01 per share, compared with a profit of US$3.7 million, or US$0.03 per share, in the same quarter a year earlier.
Excluding stock option expenses and amortization costs, earnings came to US$0.51 per share in the latest quarter, up from US$0.38 per share a year ago. Analysts, on average, were expecting adjusted earnings of US$0.39 per share, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.
Revenue climbed 47 percent to US$533.9 million from US$363.7 million in the same quarter a year ago. Analysts expected US$511.8 million.
LinkedIn has more than 300 million members worldwide. Revenue from the US was US$317.8 million, accounting for 60 percent of the total.
Unlike Twitter and Facebook, which make most of their money from advertising, LinkedIn relies mainly on its “talent solutions” business for revenue, charging businesses and headhunters that use its site to find job candidates.
This segment accounted for 60 percent of the quarter’s revenue, while advertising and premium subscription revenue took in 20 percent each.
For this quarter the California-based company is forecasting adjusted earnings of US$0.44 per share and revenue of US$543 million to US$547 million.
Analysts are expecting earnings of US$0.40 per share and revenue of $540.9 million, according to a poll by FactSet.
LinkedIn’s stock jumped US$15.95, or 8.8 percent, to US$196.59 in extended trading after the results came out.
As of Thursday’s closing price, LinkedIn shares have declined 17 percent, to US$180.64 since the beginning of the year.
The stock has declined US$32.36, or 11 percent, in the last 12 months.
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