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Showing posts with label Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Show all posts

Sunday, August 5, 2012

LinkedIn is not Facebook: Earnings/Revenue Up 89%

LinkedIn once again proved it's not Facebook: The business networking site reported that sales nearly doubled from a year ago, led by a huge increase in revenue for its job posting services.

LinkedIn Earnings: Revenue Up 89% YoY
LinkedIn has released its Q2 earnings report. Revenue is up 89% year-over-year at $228.2 million. Net income, on the other hand, was down to $2.8 million for the quarter, from $4.5 million the same period last year. The company beat Wall Street expectations.

During the quarter, the company launched its iPad app, redesigned LinkedIn Today, released targeted status updates and follower stats to companies with active profiles, and completed the rollout of Talent Pipeline.
“LinkedIn had a strong second quarter with all of our key operating and financial metrics showing solid performance,” said CEO Jeff Weiner. “Our ongoing investment in product innovation drove healthy engagement as measured by unique visiting members and member page views, and our three revenue streams all experienced significant growth.”

Here’s the release in its entirety:

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 2, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE:LNKD), the world’s largest professional network on the Internet, currently with more than 175 million members, reported its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012:
  • Revenue for the second quarter was $228.2 million, an increase of 89% compared to $121.0 million in the second quarter of 2011.
  • Net income for the second quarter was $2.8 million, compared to net income of $4.5 million for the second quarter of 2011. Non-GAAP net income for the second quarter was $18.1 million, compared to $10.8 million for the second quarter of 2011. Non-GAAP measures exclude tax-affected stock-based compensation expense and tax-affected amortization of acquired intangible assets.
  • Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $50.4 million, or 22% of revenue, compared to $26.3 million for the second quarter of 2011, or 22% of revenue.
  • GAAP EPS for the second quarter was $0.03; Non-GAAP EPS for the second quarter was $0.16. 
“LinkedIn had a strong second quarter with all of our key operating and financial metrics showing solid performance,” said Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn. “Our ongoing investment in product innovation drove healthy engagement as measured by unique visiting members and member page views, and our three revenue streams all experienced significant growth.”

Second Quarter Financial Details and Operating Summary
  • Hiring Solutions: Revenue from Hiring Solutions products totaled $121.6 million, an increase of 107% compared to the second quarter of 2011. Hiring Solutions revenue represented 53% of total revenue in the second quarter of 2012, compared to 48% in the second quarter of 2011.
  • Marketing Solutions: Revenue from Marketing Solutions products totaled $63.1 million, an increase of 64% compared to the second quarter of 2011. Marketing Solutions revenue represented 28% of total revenue in the second quarter of 2012, compared to 32% in the second quarter of 2011.
  • Premium Subscriptions: Revenue from Premium Subscriptions products totaled $43.5 million, an increase of 82% compared to the second quarter of 2011. Premium Subscriptions represented 19% of total revenue in the second quarter of 2012, compared to 20% of revenue in the second quarter of 2011. 
Revenue from the U.S. totaled $147.3 million, and represented 65% of total revenue in the second quarter of 2012. Revenue from international markets totaled $81.0 million, and represented 35% of total revenue in the second quarter of 2012. 

Revenue from the field sales channel totaled $129.4 million, and represented 57% of total revenue in the second quarter of 2012. Revenue from the online, direct sales channel totaled $98.8 million, and represented 43% of total revenue in the second quarter of 2012.

GAAP net income for the second quarter was $2.8 million, compared to net income of $4.5 million for the second quarter of 2011. Non-GAAP net income for the second quarter was $18.1 million, compared to $10.8 million in the second quarter of 2011.

Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $50.4 million, or 22% of revenue, compared to $26.3 million for the second quarter of 2011, or 22% of revenue.

GAAP EPS was $0.03 based on 112.3 million fully-diluted weighted shares outstanding compared to $0.04 for the second quarter of 2011 based on 103.1 million fully-diluted weighted shares outstanding.  Non-GAAP EPS was $0.16 based on 112.3 million fully-diluted weighted shares outstanding compared to $0.10 for the second quarter of 2011 based on 103.1 million fully-diluted weighted shares outstanding.

“Strong performance across our three product lines drove record levels of revenue and adjusted EBITDA,” said Steve Sordello, CFO of LinkedIn. ”As we continue to invest aggressively in technology, product, and our businesses, we remain focused on achieving our long-term goals.”

For additional information, please see the “Selected Company Metrics and Financials” page on LinkedIn’s Investor Relations site.

Second Quarter Highlights and Strategic Announcements

In the second quarter, LinkedIn:
  • Launched its first app designed for the iPad. The app was received positively, and engagement trends are encouraging as more than half of page views on the app are being generated by content-focused products such as updates, news and groups.  
  • Simplified the design of its flagship social news product LinkedIn Today and added deeper integration into the homepage. Engagement on LinkedIn Today is now up more than 150% since the introduction of these new features. 
  • Released Targeted Status Updates and Follower Statistics to all of the more than two million organizations on LinkedIn with active Company Profiles.
  • Completed the rollout of Talent Pipeline to the entire universe of LinkedIn Recruiter customers. In less than three months, Recruiter customers have already added more than one million prospective candidates into Talent Pipeline, enhancing their ability to quickly identify and hire new talent for their organizations.
Additionally, in July LinkedIn began rolling out a significant redesign to the homepage, enabling members to discover, share, and discuss the professional information that is most important to them. The redesign has begun to positively impact engagement metrics; for example, shares originating on LinkedIn, including status updates, are now at all-time highs.

Business Outlook

LinkedIn is providing guidance for the third quarter of 2012, and revising guidance upward for the full year of 2012 on revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and stock-based compensation, while narrowing the full-year outlook for depreciation and amortization. 
  • Q3 2012 Guidance: Revenue for the third quarter of 2012 is projected to range between $235 million to $240 million. The company expects adjusted EBITDA to range between $42 million and $45 million. The company expects stock-based compensation to range between $27 and $28 million and depreciation and amortization to range between $20 million and $22 million.
  • Full Year 2012 Guidance: The company has revised its expected revenue range upward to $915 million to $925 million from the prior range of $880 million to $900 million. The company has also revised upward its expected adjusted EBITDA range to $185 million to $190 million from the prior range of $170 million to $175 million. The company now expects stock-based compensation to range between $85 million and $95 million, while the range for depreciation and amortization is now $75 million to $80 million.
Quarterly Conference Call

LinkedIn will host a webcast/conference call to discuss its second quarter 2012 financial results and business outlook today at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Jeff Weiner and Steve Sordello will host the webcast, which can be viewed on the investor relations section of the LinkedIn website 

at http://investors.linkedin.com/. This call will contain forward-looking statements and other material information regarding the company’s financial and operating results. Following completion of the call, a recorded replay of the webcast will be available on the website. For those without access to the Internet, a replay of the call will be available beginning at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on August 2, 2012 through August 9, 2012 at 9:00 p.m. Pacific Time. To listen to the telephone replay, call (855) 859-2056, access code 96053756.

Upcoming Event

Management will participate in upcoming financial Q&A discussions at an investment industry event on September 6th. LinkedIn will furnish a link to this event on its investor relations website, http://investors.linkedin.com/ for both the live and archived webcasts.

About LinkedIn 
Founded in 2003, LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. With more than 175 million members worldwide, including executives from every Fortune 500 company, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network on the Internet. The company has a diversified business model with revenue coming from member subscriptions, marketing solutions and hiring solutions. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, LinkedIn also has offices across the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. 

The LinkedIn logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=11096

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement its consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, the company uses the following non-GAAP financial measures: adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income, and non-GAAP EPS (collectively the “non-GAAP financial measures”). The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. The company uses these non-GAAP financial measures for financial and operational decision making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. The company believes that they provide useful information about operating results, enhance the overall understanding of past financial performance and future prospects, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision making. 

The company excludes the following items from one or more of its non-GAAP measures:
Stock-based compensation. The company excludes stock-based compensation because it is non-cash in nature and because the company believes that the non-GAAP financial measures excluding this item provide meaningful supplemental information regarding operational performance and liquidity. The company further believes this measure is useful to investors in that it allows for greater transparency to certain line items in its financial statements and facilitates comparisons to competitors’ operating results.

Amortization of acquired intangible assets. The company excludes amortization of acquired intangible assets because it is non-cash in nature and because the company believes that the non-GAAP financial measures excluding this item provide meaningful supplemental information regarding operational performance and liquidity. In addition, excluding this item from various non-GAAP measures facilitates internal comparisons to historical operating results and comparisons to competitors’ operating results. 

Income tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments. The company adjusts non-GAAP net income by including the income tax effects of excluding stock-based compensation and the amortization of acquired intangible assets.  The company believes that the inclusion of the income tax effects provides additional transparency to the overall or “after tax” effects of excluding these items from non-GAAP net income.

For more information on the non-GAAP financial measures, please see the “Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP Financial Measures” table in this press release.  This accompanying table has more details on the GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures and the related reconciliations between these financial measures. Additionally, the company has not reconciled adjusted EBITDA guidance to net income guidance because it does not provide guidance for either other income (expense), net, or provision for income taxes, which are reconciling items between net income and adjusted EBITDA. As items that impact net income are out of the company’s control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted, the company is unable to provide such guidance. Accordingly, a reconciliation to net income is not available without unreasonable effort.

 Safe Harbor Statement

“Safe Harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release and the accompanying conference call contain forward-looking statements about our products, including our planned investments in key strategic areas, certain non-financial metrics, such as member growth and engagement, and our expected financial metrics such as revenue, adjusted EBITDA, depreciation and amortization and stock-based compensation for the third quarter of 2012 and the full fiscal year 2012. The achievement of the matters covered by such forward-looking statements involves risks, uncertainties and assumptions.  If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize or if any of the assumptions prove incorrect, the company’s results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements the company makes.

The risks and uncertainties referred to above include – but are not limited to – risks associated with: the company’s limited operating history in a new and unproven market; engagement of our members; the price volatility of our Class A common stock; general economic conditions; expectations regarding the return on our strategic investments; execution of our plans and strategies, including with respect to acquisitions of other companies; expectations regarding the company’s ability to timely and effectively scale and adapt existing technology and network infrastructure to ensure that its website is accessible at all times with short or no perceptible load times; security measures and the risk that the company’s website may be subject to attacks that degrade or deny the ability of members to access the company’s solutions or that our security measures may not be sufficient to prevent unauthorized access to our member data; our ability to maintain our rate of revenue growth and manage our expenses and investment plans; our ability to accurately track our key metrics internally; members and customers curtailing or ceasing to use the company’s solutions; the company’s core value of putting members first, which may conflict with the short-term interests of the business; privacy, litigation and regulatory issues; increasing competition; our ability to manage our growth and retain our employees; the application of US and international tax laws on our tax structure and any changes to such tax laws; and the dual class structure of the company’s common stock.

Further information on these and other factors that could affect the company’s financial results is included in filings it makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K that was filed for the year ended December 31, 2011, and additional information will also be set forth in our Form 10-Q that will be filed for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, which should read in conjunction with these financial results.  These documents are available on the SEC Filings section of the Investor Information section of the company’s website at http://investors.linkedin.com/.  All information provided in this release and in the attachments is as of August 2, 2012, and LinkedIn undertakes no duty to update this information.

LINKEDIN CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)

June 30,  December 31, 
2012 2011
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents  $ 286,376  $ 339,048
Short-term investments  330,761  238,456
Accounts receivable (net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $3,516 and $5,460 at June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively)  136,536  111,372
Deferred commissions  15,715  13,594
Prepaid expenses   20,923  10,799
Other current assets  21,601  12,658
Total current assets  811,912  725,927
Property and equipment, net  152,448  114,850
Goodwill  113,268  12,249
Intangible assets, net  33,456  8,095
Other assets  28,078  12,576
TOTAL ASSETS  $ 1,139,162  $ 873,697





LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

CURRENT LIABILITIES:

Accounts payable  $ 44,195  $ 28,217
Accrued liabilities  63,662  58,644
Deferred revenue  191,993  139,798
Total current liabilities  299,850  226,659
DEFERRED TAX LIABILITIES  40,612  18,551
OTHER LONG TERM LIABILITIES  15,525  3,508
Total liabilities  355,987  248,718
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES 




STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY: 

Class A and Class B common stock  11  10
Additional paid-in capital  767,995  617,629
Accumulated other comprehensive income   129  100
Accumulated earnings   15,040  7,240
Total stockholders’ equity  783,175  624,979



TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY  $ 1,139,162  $ 873,697

LINKEDIN CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended

June 30,  June 30, 
2012 2011 2012 2011
Net revenue  $ 228,207   $ 121,040   $ 416,663   $ 214,972 





Costs and expenses:



Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below)  30,367   18,403   55,500   35,186 
Sales and marketing  75,740   36,019   141,624   65,380 
Product development  60,080   30,414   107,173   55,149 
General and administrative  30,974   16,673   55,828   30,287 
Depreciation and amortization  17,548   9,602   32,430   17,761 
Total costs and expenses  214,709   111,111   392,555   203,763 





Income from operations  13,498   9,929   24,108   11,209 





Other income (expense), net  (668)  11   (444)  460 
Income before income taxes  12,830   9,940   23,664   11,669 
Provision for income taxes  10,019   5,427   15,864   5,078 
Net income   $ 2,811   $ 4,513   $ 7,800   $ 6,591 





Net income per share of common stock:



Basic  $ 0.03   $ 0.07   $ 0.08   $ 0.12 
Diluted  $ 0.03   $ 0.04   $ 0.07   $ 0.07 





Weighted-average shares used to compute net  income per share:



Basic  104,185  69,395  103,198  56,631
Diluted  112,317  103,129  111,813  100,131

LINKEDIN CORPORATION
SUPPLEMENTAL REVENUE INFORMATION
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended

June 30,  June 30, 
2012 2011 2012 2011
Revenue by product:
Hiring Solutions  $ 121,592  $ 58,620  $ 224,152  $ 104,953
Marketing Solutions  63,105  38,570  111,055  66,253
Premium Subscriptions  43,510  23,850  81,456  43,766
Total  $ 228,207  $ 121,040  $ 416,663  $ 214,972

Revenue by geographic region:
United States  $ 147,253  $ 82,739  $ 268,102  $ 147,859
Other Americas (1)  15,047  6,146  27,056  10,745
Total Americas  162,300  88,885  295,158  158,604
EMEA (2)  50,057  25,859  92,902  45,590
APAC (3)  15,850  6,296  28,603  10,778
Total  $ 228,207  $ 121,040  $ 416,663  $ 214,972

Revenue by channel:
Field sales  $ 129,448  $ 66,699  $ 230,919  $ 117,327
Online sales  98,759  54,341  185,744  97,645
Total  $ 228,207  $ 121,040  $ 416,663  $ 214,972






(1) Canada, Latin America and South America
(2) Europe, the Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”)
(3) Asia-Pacific (“APAC”)






LINKEDIN CORPORATION
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended Six Months Ended

June 30, June 30,
2012 2011 2012 2011


Non-GAAP net income and net income per share:

GAAP net income   $ 2,811  $ 4,513  $ 7,800  $ 6,591
Add back: stock-based compensation  19,323  6,815  31,949  10,658
Add back: amortization of intangible assets  1,851  862  3,159  1,671
Income tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments  (5,933)  (1,414)  (7,923)  (2,392)
NON-GAAP NET INCOME  $ 18,052  $ 10,776  $ 34,985  $ 16,528



GAAP DILUTED SHARES  112,317  103,129  111,813  100,131




NON-GAAP DILUTED NET INCOME PER SHARE  $ 0.16  $ 0.10  $ 0.31  $ 0.17





Adjusted EBITDA:

Net income  $ 2,811  $ 4,513  $ 7,800  $ 6,591
Provision for income taxes  10,019  5,427  15,864  5,078
Other (income) expense, net  668  (11)  444  (460)
Depreciation and amortization  17,548  9,602  32,430  17,761
Stock-based compensation  19,323  6,815  31,949  10,658
ADJUSTED EBITDA

By

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Ernst & Young: Lehman accounting in accordance with US's GAAP

Auditors at Ernst & Young [ERNY.UL] are firing back at allegations that the "Big Four" auditor failed to detect accounting tricks at collapsed investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc

Following are excerpts from a letter sent by Ernst & Young partners to client audit committees in the past few days.
--------------------------------------------------------
The concept of an examiner's report is a feature of U.S. bankruptcy law. It does not represent the views of a court or a regulatory body, nor is the Report the result of a legal process. Instead, an examiner's report is intended to identify potential claims that, if pursued, may result in a recovery for the bankrupt company or its creditors.

EY is confident we will prevail should any of the potential claims identified against us be pursued.
We wanted to provide you with EY's perspective on some of the potential claims in the Examiner's Report. We also wanted to address certain media coverage and commentary on the Examiner's Report that has at times been inaccurate, if not misleading.

A few key points are set out below. General Comments:

-- EY's last audit was for the year ended November 30, 2007. Our opinion stated that Lehman's financial statements for 2007 were fairly presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, and we remain of that view. We reviewed but did not audit the interim periods for Lehman's first and second quarters of fiscal 2008.

-- Lehman's bankruptcy was the result of a series of unprecedented adverse events in the financial markets. The months leading up to Lehman's bankruptcy were among the most turbulent periods in our economic history. Lehman's bankruptcy was caused by a collapse in its liquidity, which was in turn caused by declining asset values and loss of market confidence in Lehman. It was not caused by accounting issues or disclosure issues.

-- The Examiner identified no potential claims that the assets and liabilities reported on Lehman's financial statements (approximately $691 billion and $669 billion respectively, at November 30, 2007) were improperly valued or accounted for incorrectly.



Accounting and Disclosure Issues Relating to Repo 105 Transactions:

-- There has been significant media attention about potential claims identified by the Examiner related to what Lehman referred to as "Repo 105" transactions. What has not been reported in the media is that the Examiner did not challenge Lehman's accounting for its Repo 105 transactions.

-- As recognized by the Examiner, all investment banks used repo transactions extensively to fund their operations on a daily basis; these banks all operated in a high-risk, high-leverage business model. Most repo transactions are accounted for as financings; some (the Repo 105 transactions) are accounted for as sales if they meet the requirements of SFAS 140.

-- The Repo 105 transactions involved the sale by Lehman of high quality liquid assets (generally government-backed securities), in return for which Lehman received cash. The media reports that these were "sham transactions" designed to off-load Lehman's "bad assets" are inaccurate.

-- Because effective control of the securities was surrendered to the counterparty in the Repo 105 arrangements, the accounting literature (SFAS 140) required Lehman to account for Repo 105 transactions as sales rather than financings.

-- The potential claims against EY arise solely from the Examiner's conclusion that these transactions ($38.6 billion at November 30, 2007) should have been specifically disclosed in the footnotes to Lehman's financial statements, and that Lehman should have disclosed in its MD&A the impact these transactions would have had on its leverage ratios if they had been recorded as financing transactions.

-- While no specific disclosures around Repo 105 transactions were reflected in Lehman's financial statement footnotes, the 2007 audited financial statements were presented in accordance with US GAAP, and clearly portrayed Lehman as a leveraged entity operating in a risky and volatile industry. Lehman's 2007 audited financial statements included footnote disclosure of off balance sheet commitments of almost $1 trillion.

-- Lehman's leverage ratios are not a GAAP financial measure; they were included in Lehman's MD&A, not its audited financial statements. Lehman concluded no further MD&A disclosures were required; EY did not take exception to that judgment.

-- If the Repo 105 transactions were treated as if they were on the balance sheet for leverage ratio purposes, as the Examiner suggests, Lehman's reported gross leverage would have been 32.4 instead of 30.7 at November 30, 2007. Also, contrary to media reports, the decline in Lehman's reported leverage from its first to second quarters of 2008 was not a result of an increased use of Repo 105 transactions. Lehman's Repo 105 transaction volumes were comparable at the end of its first and second quarters.

Handling of the Whistleblower's Issues:

-- The media has inaccurately reported that EY concealed a May 2008 whistleblower letter from Lehman's Audit Committee. The whistleblower letter, which raised various significant potential concerns about Lehman's financial controls and reporting but did not mention Repo 105, was directed to Lehman's management. When we learned of the letter, our lead partner promptly called the Audit Committee Chair; we also insisted that Lehman's management inform the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve Bank of the letter. EY's lead partner discussed the whistleblower letter with the Lehman Audit Committee on at least three occasions during June and July 2008.

--In the investigations that ensued, the writer of the letter did briefly reference Repo 105 transactions in an interview with EY partners. He also confirmed to EY that he was unaware of any material financial reporting errors. Lehman's senior executives did not advise us of any reservations they had about the company's Repo 105 transactions.

-- Lehman's September 2008 bankruptcy prevented EY from completing its assessment of the whistleblower's allegations. The allegations would have been the subject of significant attention had EY completed its third quarter review and 2008 year-end audit.

Should any of the potential claims be pursued, we are confident we will prevail.