Microsoft posted its FY27 Q1 earnings on Oct. 28, which means that we also get an update on LinkedIn's performance, as part of the broader assessment of Microsoft's family of platforms.
LinkedIn CEO Daniel Shapero shared LinkedIn-specific data points to accompany Microsoft's main report, with Shapero noting that user time spent on LinkedIn was up 15% year over year in the period.
Shapero said that building a platform that’s more relevant and engaging has been a key focus for the LinkedIn team, while also helping LinkedIn members make sense of evolving workforce trends.
On that front, LinkedIn has been looking to improve the quality of its feed. In August, the platform introduced an option to report AI slop, in response to user concerns about the prevalence of AI-generated content.
LinkedIn has also continued to crack down on inauthentic behavior in the app, including engagement pods and paid third-party automated engagement tools. Meanwhile, the app is testing a new Network tab to make it easier for members to engage with people they know. This week, LinkedIn also rolled out new UI tweaks to drive more engagement.
The changes seem to be driving increased user interest and engagement. If LinkedIn can continue to weed out inauthentic posts, that could make all of its elements, including groups, even more engaging.
LinkedIn has also now exceeded 1.4 billion members, up from 1.3 billion in Q4.
Though as always, it is worth noting that members and active users are two very different data points, and LinkedIn’s active usage, as per last check, remained at around 30% of its total member base. That would mean, at this stage, that LinkedIn has around 420 million monthly active users.
What’s particularly interesting with this data point is that the percentage of LinkedIn users who are using the app regularly has remained steady, at least based on LinkedIn’s EU user stats. The EU market is the only region that LinkedIn provides active user figures for, due to DSA directives.
In the EU, LinkedIn’s active user count has fluctuated between 28% and 30% of its overall EU member count. There’s a 30 million active user variance between 30% of 1.3 billion members and 30% of 1.4 billion active users, so this is still relevant. However, it is an interesting consideration in terms of what these numbers actually represent.
In terms of ads, Shapero said that paid video ads in the app are up 25% year over year, while ads featuring creators increased 63% in the same period.
LinkedIn has been making creator-led campaigns a bigger focus, with more ways for brands to find relevant creators to work with, and opportunities for creators to share in ad revenue programs.
Shapero also said that 25,000 customers are now using LinkedIn's agentic hiring products, while Premium Company subscriptions are up 121% year over year.
