LinkedIn is once again the social media darling of Wall Street.
For the seventh consecutive quarter since going public in May 2011, LinkedIn beat expectations for the December 2012 quarter.
Net income exploded 60 percent to $11.5 million from $6.9 million in the year-earlier period. Incredibly, revenue spiked 81 percent to $304 million. $280 million in revenue was expected, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.
“Continued investment in our talent and technology infrastructure drove momentum in both product and monetization, resulting in record revenue, profitability, and cash flow,” said Steve Sordello, CFO of LinkedIn. “As we look forward to 2013, we remain excited about the value LinkedIn will create for members and customers in the coming year.”
LinkedIn is widely viewed as the biggest standout in a still-disappointing sea of social media companies that have tried to hit it big on Wall Street.
“2012 was a transformative year for LinkedIn,” says Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn. “We exited 2011 having successfully revamped our underlying development infrastructure. Based on that investment, we said that 2012 would be a year of accelerated product innovation, and it was. The products we delivered throughout the year drove member engagement and financial results to record levels in the fourth quarter.”
