LinkedIn Admits Premium Subscriptions Bring In $1.7bn

Microsoft-owned LinkedIn has revealed how much money its premium subscription business delivered in 2023.

Reuters reported that LinkedIn on Thursday for the first time disclosed sales for its premium subscription business, saying the unit hit $1.7 billion in revenue in 2023.

Last October LinkedIn confirmed it would reduce its workforce for the second time in 2023, and would axe approximately 668 roles across its engineering, product, talent and finance teams.

Premium subscriptions

That was the second tranche of job cuts at the business-focused social network.

In May 2023 LinkedIn announced it was closing its remaining service (a jobs app) in China and would also cut 716 jobs as well.

The admission that premium subscription business brought in $1.7 billion in revenue in 2023 is a rare occurrence, as the firm has not revealed its full financial performance since it was acquired by Microsoft in 2016 for $26.2 billion.

That said, Reuters noted that LinkedIn has previously disclosed that it made $15 billion in fiscal 2023, with $7 billion of that coming from hiring software that it sells to corporate recruiters.

But over the past year, LinkedIn has been working to expand its premium subscription business, Reuters added, which is used by job seekers and other individual users and starts at $39.99 (£31.26) per month.

AI features

Reuters noted that a major part of that effort was the addition last year of AI features.

AI features include the ability to scan a job posting, and based on a job seeker’s resume or CV, automatically determine if the role might be a good fit.

The AI system can also reportedly help job seekers adjust their LinkedIn profile to make them more appealing to recruiters. The system can also automatically generate written messages to send to recruiters.

In an interview with Reuters, Dan Shapero, LinkedIn’s chief operating officer, reportedly said the number of LinkedIn premium subscribers rose 25 percent in 2023, though the company did not disclosure an absolute figure.

Shapero said that LinkedIn’s early data shows that 70 percent of subscribers with access to the new AI tools have tried them, and 90 percent of those found them useful.