LinkedIn Expected To Report Strong Q4 Earnings: Here’s What To Watch

Photo Credit:Sheila Scarborough

LinkedIn Corporation (LNKD) Information Technology – Internet Software & Services | Reports February 4, After Market Closes.

Key Takeaway

The Estimize consensus is calling for EPS of $0.81 and revenue of $864.72 million, slightly higher than Wall Street’s estimates

Increased investments in mobile, global expansion and its acquisition of lynda.com have all been key drivers to Linkein’s success

Facebook’s newest product, Facebook at Work, may pose an immediate threat to LinkedIn’s growth

What are you expecting for LNKD? Get your estimate in here!

LinkedIn is scheduled to report fourth quarter earnings, February 4th after the market closes. In the emerging professional networking segment, the company continues to report better than expected results. After growing its user base 20% in Q3, LinkedIn is poised for another strong quarter following upbeat revenue guidance. The Estimize consensus is calling for EPS of $0.81 and revenue of $864.72 million, slightly higher than Wall Street’s estimates. Compared to Q4 2014 this represents a projected YoY increase in EPS and revenue of 33% and 34%, respectively. Increased investments in mobile, global expansion and its acquisition of lynda.com have all been key drivers to Linkein’s success. These series of new initiatives creates long term value through an expanding user base, improved user engagement and more robust advertising revenue.

LinkedIn’s focus on improving its mobile and desktop applications has helped increase membership engagement and registrations. It’s relatively new mobile and tablet platforms account for over 50% of unique users, which LinkedIn hopes to leverage into additional customer base and revenue streams. Like other social networks, LinkedIn is expanding beyond its core business. Earlier in 2015, the company acquired lynda.com thereby putting LinkedIn at the forefront of the online education sector. LinkedIn still faces a number of concerns as it expands. Most notably Facebook’s newest enterprise platform, Facebook at Work, may pose the most immediate threat to the company’s growth. On the bright side, Linkedin is growing more like Facebook and Google rather than Yahoo, with its strategic acquisitions and scalable advertising.