LNKD Linkedin Corp. Class A

By Deepa Seetharaman 

Professional online network LinkedIn Corp. posted its deepest loss as a public company, hurt by a tax-related charge, in one of its final quarterly reports before it is set to be bought by Microsoft Corp.

LinkedIn reported a second-quarter net loss of $119.3 million, or 89 cents a share, compared with the year-ago loss of $67.7 million, or 53 cents a share. The loss, driven mostly by a $101 million charge related to the company's tax assets, is its worst since becoming a public company in 2011, according to FactSet data.

Revenue, though, also rose to the highest level in the company's history. The Mountain View, Calif., company said revenue rose 31%, to $932.7 million, from $711.7 million.

Excluding certain expenses, said it would have earned $1.13 a share. Analysts, on average, had expected the company to post earnings of 78 cents per share on that basis, according to Thomson Reuters.

In June, Microsoft said it would buy LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in the largest acquisition in its history. Microsoft is betting LinkedIn can bolster the tech titan's software.

For LinkedIn, the deal offers an opportunity to reaccelerate growth by tapping Microsoft's large customer base. It also provides an exit for LinkedIn shareholders after the stock tumbled from a peak of $269 in February 2015 to as low as $101.11 last February after the company issued a disappointing outlook, which it attributed to a slowdown in its higher-margin online sales business and a decision to shelve an ad product.

Microsoft agreed to pay $196 per LinkedIn share, a 50% premium to the social network's price before the deal. The stock has traded in a tight range since then, closing Thursday at $192.01 and barely moving after the earnings report.

LinkedIn Chief Executive Jeff Weiner will keep his current job when the deal closes, which the companies expect to happen by the end of the year.

About two-thirds of LinkedIn's revenue comes from its talent-solutions division, which helps corporate recruiters identify job candidates. The other units are its marketing-solutions division and premium subscriptions.

Write to Deepa Seetharaman at Deepa.Seetharaman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 04, 2016 16:55 ET (20:55 GMT)

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