LinkedIn's 2Q earnings soar as growth accelerates

LinkedIn emerged from its recently completed IPO with another quarter of accelerating growth on its professional networking website.

Besides impressive revenue and membership gains, LinkedIn Corp. earned money in the second quarter instead of posting a loss as analysts expected.

The results announced Thursday provided the first update on LinkedIn's progress since the company's headline-grabbing initial public offering in May. LinkedIn's shares have more than doubled from their IPO price of $45, stirring a debate about whether investors are overvaluing Internet companies.

LinkedIn earned $4.5 million, or 4 cents per share, in the April-June period. That contrasted with earnings of $938,000, or 2 cents per share, at the same time last year.

Revenue more than doubled from last year to $121 million while membership climbed 61 percent to 116 million.