![]() ![]() Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. That news has LinkedIn’s stock down 29 percent in after-hours trading. Both of those numbers are below Wall Street’s expectations of $868 million in revenue and 75 cents earnings per share. LinkedIn says it expects revenue to be about $820 million with earnings per share of about 55 cents. The company, though, lowered expectations for Q1 of 2016. LinkedIn says mobile usage now accounts for 57 percent of all its traffic. The company’s user base continued to grow, with overall membership passing 400 million for the first time - 414 million, to be precise, at the end of 2015. ![]() The company’s Marketing Solutions division saw 28 percent annual growth, with the Sponsored Updates product driving more than 50 percent of that division’s revenue for the first time. For the full year, revenue was up 35 percent, to $2.9 billion. In Q4, LinkedIn says revenue was $862 million, a 34-percent increase compared to Q4 of 2014. If the Mark Zuckerberg-led company decided it wanted to take some of the jobs business away from its rival, it likely could easily enough.LinkedIn reported a strong fourth quarter of 2015 on Thursday, but its stock tumbled after the company told Wall Street to expect lower revenue for the start of 2016. People may not have their full work history on the social media leader, but they generally have a lot of it, with their current and many past jobs listed. How risky is it?In the short term, LinkedIn seems like a safe, slow- to moderate-growth platform, but it's hard to get past the fact that Facebook could crush it if it wanted to. People are voluntarily attending one while they would skip out on the other if they could, and that leaves LinkedIn vulnerable. In some ways, Facebook is a cocktail party you were attending anyway, while LinkedIn is the semi-mandatory training you have to take or risk missing out on future opportunities. Sometimes the same may be true of Facebook, but the social media leader generally mixes pleasant interaction with family and friends with the occasionally networking opportunity. The problem - and this is personal feeling, not hard evidence - is that most people go to LinkedIn out of obligation, not for fun. What are the risks?While LinkedIn appears to have a solid business, it remains vulnerable to a push into jobs solutions from Facebook. "We enter 2016 with increased focus on core initiatives that will drive leverage across our portfolio of products." "Q4 was a strong quarter for LinkedIn, bringing to a close a successful year of growth and innovation against our long-term roadmap," said CEO Jeff Weiner in the Q4 earnings release. That segment increased by 22% year over year to $532 million for all of 2015. Premium Subscriptions also grew in Q4 by 19% to $144 million. Marketing Solutions, where about 50% of the revenue comes from sponsored posts, grew20% year over year in Q4 to $183 million, and grew 28% to $581 million in 2015. Talent Solutions, essentially the company's hiring platform, which also includes its Learning & Development segment, grew 45% year over year in Q4 to $535 million, and jumped 41% $1.87 billion for the year.Here's how that broke down across the company's biggest business segments. In addition, inthe fourth quarter of 2015, itsaw overall revenue jump by 34% over Q4 2014, and the full-year number jumped 35% in 2015 to $2.99 billion. Shares of LinkedIn tanked on Friday, falling 43 after the company gave a somewhat conservative outlook for the current quarter. What's the good news?On the positive side, LinkedIn saw increases in revenue for its three major business areas in 2015. But, being the "Facebook for business" - which is never how the company has defined itself, but is how many see it - leaves LinkedIn vulnerable. Because it's not simply a competitor, but a more refined social media play with a specific focus, the company has carved out a niche. That has given LinkedIn more stability than most Facebook rivals. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |