LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) has a track record of beating its own guidance, and Raymond James analysts expect more of the same when the company reports earnings today. They note that the company exceeded the high end of its revenue guidance by $15 million on average and the high end of its earnings guidance by $12.5 million on average. That’s over the last eight quarters.
Estimating LinkedIn’s 3Q
Analyst Aaron Kessler expected LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) to report earnings of $388.8 million, which is a 54% year over year increase compared to a 59% year over year increase in the previous quarter. He is ahead of consensus, which is $385 million, and revenue, which is between $367 million and $373 million. He’s expecting earnings of $92.5 million, compared to consensus of $90 million and guidance of $81 million to $83 million.
The analyst projects that LinkedIn’s Marketing Solutions revenues will be $87.1 million, which is also ahead of consensus at $86 million. He expects as the social network transitions to Sponsored Updates for mobile and PC, it could begin to see ad revenues accelerate and generate upside to his estimates for this division.
For Talent Solutions, he’s estimating $224 million in revenue, compared to consensus of $222 million. He believes LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) ended the September quarter with 22,271 Talent Solutions customers. Kessler reports that even though job postings are a fairly small part of the division’s revenues, they were strong during the quarter. He projects that worldwide job postings rose 80% year over year, compared to 86% year over year in the previous quarter.
Questions for LinkedIn
When LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) holds its investor call, the analyst has three main questions for management. He wants to know more about growth in the network’s Talent Solutions customers and pricing. He also wants to hear about growth in Marketing Solutions and the transition to Sponsored Updates and monetization for mobile. And finally, he wants to hear about traction from the company’s new products like Sales Navigator.
