[May 02, 2014]SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) — LinkedIn Corp
<LNKD.N> forecast 2014 revenue below Wall Street's expectations on
Thursday, underscoring concerns about its ability to sustain its
rapid growth and helping to drag its shares more than 3 percent
lower.
The social networking company, which is geared toward connecting
professionals with prospective employers, foresees revenue of $500
million to $505 million this quarter, compared with an average Wall
Street forecast of $505.1 million.
For all of 2014, it expects sales of $2.06 billion to $2.08 billion — up from a previous forecast, but still lagging analysts' $2.11
billion target.
Its shares slid to $155.80 in afterhours trading from a close of
$161.22 on the New York Stock Exchange.
LinkedIn's tepid outlook overshadowed a higher-than-expected 46
percent increase in first-quarter revenue to $473.2 million, versus
the $466.6 million expected by analysts on average, according to
Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
And it posted non-GAAP earnings of 38 cents a share, better than the
34 cents expected.
GO EAST
LinkedIn has rapidly expanded from an online gathering place for
professionals to a provider of a plethora of employment services,
and it is now mining mobile advertising, marketing solutions and
original content for new revenue.
It is also trying to replicate its U.S. success internationally. In
February, it launched a Chinese language "beta" version of its main
website, in the hope of jump starting an expansion into the world's
largest Internet market by users. However, the company acknowledged
it will have to police what some of its members say on the website.
Wall Street has high expectations for a company still growing its
top line at strong double-digit-percentages, while attracting new
members to its expanding network.
LinkedIn's membership rose 8.3 percent to 300 million worldwide from
277 million at the end of the fourth quarter. That pace accelerated
slightly from 7 percent in the fourth quarter a year ago.
LinkedIn's fourth-quarter revenue missed Wall Street's target, the
first time it has fallen short on a quarterly basis since it went
public in 2011.
(Reporting by San Francisco newsroom; editing by Steve Orlofsky and
Andre Grenon)
The social networking company, which is geared toward connecting
professionals with prospective employers, foresees revenue of $500
million to $505 million this quarter, compared with an average Wall
Street forecast of $505.1 million.
