LinkedIn 2015 Annual Report Download - page 53

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 53 of the 2015 LinkedIn annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 143

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120
  • 121
  • 122
  • 123
  • 124
  • 125
  • 126
  • 127
  • 128
  • 129
  • 130
  • 131
  • 132
  • 133
  • 134
  • 135
  • 136
  • 137
  • 138
  • 139
  • 140
  • 141
  • 142
  • 143

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
This section and other parts of this Annual Report on Form 10-K contain forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements can also be identified by
words such as ‘‘anticipates,’’ ‘‘expects,’’ ‘‘believes,’’ ‘‘plans,’’ ‘‘predicts,’’ and similar terms. Forward-
looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and the Company’s actual results may
differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might
cause such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the subsection entitled ‘‘Risk
Factors’’ above, which are incorporated herein by reference.
You should read the following discussion in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements
and notes thereto included under Item 8 ‘‘Financial Statements and Supplementary Data’’ of this
Annual Report on Form 10-K. All information presented herein is based on the Company’s fiscal
calendar. Unless otherwise stated, references in this report to particular years or quarters refer to the
Company’s fiscal years ended December 31 of the applicable year and the associated quarters of
those fiscal years. The Company assumes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking
statements for any reason, except as required by law.
Overview
As the world’s largest professional network on the Internet, we currently have over 400 million
members in over 200 countries and territories. LinkedIn’s value proposition for our members and
customers is simple: connect to opportunity. Members use our platform to stay connected and
informed, advance their career, and work smarter. Ultimately, our vision is to create economic
opportunity for every member of the global workforce by building the world’s first economic graph, a
digital representation of the global economy.
Our focus is on delivering value to members in their professional lives. We believe creating
value for members strengthens the network effect of our platform and enables us to deliver products
that create value to our customers. In 2015, we made progress against several long-term initiatives that
deliver value to our members, specifically: geographic expansion, particularly in China; launching our
re-imagined flagship mobile app; improving the overall job seeking experience, including scaling the
total number of jobs on our platform; and focusing on our content strategy.
Also, in 2015, we acquired lynda.com, Inc. (‘‘Lynda.com’’), a privately-held online learning company
that offers an extensive, high quality library of professional training videos and courses. We believe that
the acquisition of Lynda.com further expands our content strategy, broadens our Talent Solutions
product portfolio, and helps us realize our vision of building the world’s first economic graph. The total
purchase price for all of the outstanding equity interests of Lynda.com was approximately $1.5 billion,
subject to adjustment, in combination of approximately 52% cash and approximately 48% in our
Class A common stock.
Our revenue comes from products that monetize the critical mass of our platform. We
believe by creating value for our members we can transform the way our customers hire, market, sell,
and learn on a global basis through our three product lines: Talent Solutions, Marketing Solutions, and
Premium Subscriptions. Our Talent Solutions include Hiring and Learning & Development (‘‘L&D’’).
Hiring provides products to recruiters that enable them to attract, recruit, and hire talent. L&D, from our
acquisition of Lynda.com, provides subscriptions to enterprises and individuals to online education
courses. Our Marketing Solutions enable enterprises and individuals to advertise to our member base
through relevant content. Our Premium Subscriptions (inclusive of Sales Solutions) enable
professionals to manage their professional identity, grow their network, and connect with talent, while
Sales Navigator, our premium social selling solution, enables sales professionals to find leads and
generate sales.
51