Microsoft-owned LinkedIn makes this ‘first-ever’ earnings disclosure

In a first, LinkedIn has disclosed sales figures for its premium subscription service. The Microsoft-owned employment-focused social media platform said that it generated $1.7 billion in revenue in 2023. This disclosure comes as the tech giant sees an increase in user adoption of new artificial intelligence tools it offers.

Since its acquisition by Microsoft in 2016, LinkedIn had not provided detailed financial breakdowns. It had previously announced making $15 billion in revenue during fiscal year 2023, with $7 billion coming from their hiring software sold to corporate recruiters, news agency Reuters reported.

AI tools on LinkedInOver the past year, LinkedIn has focused on expanding its premium subscription service, offered to job seekers and other individual users at a starting price of $39.99 per month. Microsoft launched a bunch of AI tools that can help users write messages to other users on the platform.

AI tools on LinkedIn also include the ability to analyse job postings and suggest suitability based on a user's resume, assist with profile optimisation for recruiters, and automatically generate messages for job applications.

For recruiters, LinkedIn tested AI tools for writing job descriptions.

Dan Shapero, LinkedIn's chief operating officer, revealed in an interview that the number of premium subscribers increased by 25% in 2023, though he did not specify subscriber numbers. Shapero also reported that internal data showed 70% of subscribers with access to the new AI tools used them, with 90% finding them helpful.

“Due to economic uncertainty individuals are taking steps to ensure they have the best possible opportunities to secure their desired jobs,” said Shapero.

Last year, LinkedIn laid off around 1,400 people in two rounds – It laid off 716 employees in May, saying at the time that the move was meant to “re-organize for greater agility and growth” and cut another 668 jobs across various teams in October.