MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 30, 2015 - LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD), the worlds largest professional network on the Internet, with more than 350 million members, reported its results for the first quarter of 2015. In addition, see the transcript containing prepared remarks from the results call on the investor relations section of the LinkedIn website.Revenue for the first quarter was $638 million, an increase of 35% compared to $473 million in the first quarter of 2014.
Net loss attributable to common stockholders for the first quarter was $43 million, compared to net loss of $13 million for the first quarter of 2014. Non-GAAP net income for the first quarter was $73 million, compared to $47 million for the first quarter of 2014. Non-GAAP net income excludes tax affected non-cash items, such as stock-based compensation and amortization of acquired intangible assets. For additional information, see section Non-GAAP Financial Measures."
Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was $160 million, or 25% of revenue, compared to $117 million for the first quarter of 2014, or 25% of revenue.
GAAP diluted EPS for the first quarter was ($0.34), compared to GAAP diluted EPS of ($0.11) for the first quarter of 2014; non-GAAP diluted EPS for the first quarter was $0.57, compared to non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.38 for the first quarter of 2014.
Q1 was a solid quarter in which we made meaningful progress against our multi-year strategic roadmap, said Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn. During the quarter, we maintained steady growth in member engagement while achieving strong financial results.
First Quarter Operating Summary
Talent Solutions: Revenue from Talent Solutions products totaled $396 million, an increase of 36% compared to the first quarter of 2014. Talent Solutions revenue represented 62% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2015 and 2014.
Marketing Solutions: Revenue from Marketing Solutions products totaled $119 million, an increase of 38% compared to the first quarter of 2014. Marketing Solutions revenue represented 19% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2015, compared to 18% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2014.
Premium Subscriptions: Revenue from Premium Subscriptions products totaled $122 million, an increase of 28% compared to the first quarter of 2014. Premium Subscriptions represented 19% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2015, compared to 20% of total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Revenue from the U.S. totaled $389 million, and represented 61% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2015. Revenue from international markets totaled $248 million, and represented 39% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2015.
Revenue from the field sales channel totaled $393 million, and represented 62% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2015. Revenue from the online channel totaled $244 million, and represented 38% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2015.
First Quarter 2015 Highlights and Strategic Announcements
In the first quarter of 2015, LinkedIn:
Witnessed continued adoption of its professional publishing platform, eclipsing 100,000 member-generated long-form posts for the first time. When combined with SlideShare's 18 million pieces of unique content, members can increasingly stay informed and discover relevant professional knowledge on LinkedIn.
Achieved its mobile moment, with the number of unique visiting members accessing LinkedIn via mobile devices surpassing 50%. LinkedIn continues to rapidly innovate in mobile, launching the LinkedIn Job Search app for Android during the quarter.
Introduced an expanded portfolio for its Marketing Solutions business, including the new LinkedIn Lead Accelerator, Network Display advertising, and revamped Sponsored InMail. The new end-to-end product suite allows marketers to reach, nurture, and acquire customers on and off LinkedIn, increasingly making LinkedIn the most effective platform to engage with professionals.
Additionally, earlier this month, LinkedIn announced the pending acquisition of lynda.com, which will change the way people connect to opportunity by combining an extensive library of skills-based video content with the hundreds of millions of members and millions of jobs on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn demonstrated continued solid growth during the first quarter, said Steve Sordello, CFO of LinkedIn. This performance comes amidst the backdrop of several important strategic investments to better position the business to execute on our long-term roadmap.
Business Outlook
LinkedIn is providing guidance for the second quarter and full year 2015. Further details can be found in our transcript including the impact of the pending lynda.com acquisition:
Q2 2015 Guidance: Revenue is expected to range between $670 million and $675 million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be approximately $120 million. Non-GAAP EPS is expected to be approximately $0.28. The company expects depreciation of approximately $68 million, amortization of approximately $24 million, and stock-based compensation of approximately $144 million. The company also expects approximately 129 million fully-diluted weighted shares.
Full Year 2015 Guidance: Revenue is expected to be approximately $2.90 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be approximately $630 million. Non-GAAP EPS is expected to be approximately $1.90. The company expects depreciation of approximately $290 million, amortization of approximately $128 million, and stock-based compensation of approximately $500 million. The company also expects approximately 131 million fully-diluted weighted shares.
Quarterly Results Webcast and Conference Call
LinkedIn will host a webcast and conference call to discuss its first quarter 2015 financial results and business outlook today at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Jeff Weiner and Steve Sordello will host the webcast
