Oh look, Microsoft has printed its newest quarterly efficiency report, I ponder whether LinkedIn noticed “document engagement” within the interval?
Oh wow, it did. How completely surprising.
As you possibly can see on this overview taken from Microsoft’s Q3 2025 efficiency replace, LinkedIn as soon as once more noticed 9% session progress within the measurement interval, with “document engagement.”
Which is identical replace that Microsoft reviews for LinkedIn each quarter.
And that’s not an exaggeration, in actually each single one in every of Microsoft’s quarterly updates since 2018 (besides one), it’s shared a variation of the very same LinkedIn replace: “Periods progress of x% with document ranges of engagement.”
Each quarter. Each time.
Which appears unattainable, proper? I imply, it might probably’t be a brand new document each time. There’s the downtime over Christmas, for instance, the end-of-year interval, certainly LinkedIn’s not seeing “document ranges” of engagement in that final three months of the yr over the previous interval. Proper?
Properly, in line with guardian firm Microsoft, it’s all a document, with the one actual measurement that we’ve got to go on being periods progress.
Which has slowed of late.
LinkedIn periods progress was 11% in the identical reporting interval in 2024, however its solely 8% now.
I imply, if it’s going up, that’s nonetheless a very good factor, however given the restricted stats we’ve got to go on, all we all know for positive, based mostly on this overview, is that LinkedIn is making extra money (income up 7% year-over-year), and that customers are coming to the app somewhat extra typically.
Although Microsoft did present some extra LinkedIn efficiency notes in its earnings name this time round.
In response to Microsoft, LinkedIn membership “continues to develop at double digits year-over-year.”
I imply, that too is a little bit of a deceptive stat, as a result of “members” will not be the identical as “energetic customers.” And contemplating that extra individuals are coming into the workforce on a regular basis, you’d anticipate that the quantity of individuals signing up for LinkedIn, and turning into members, would proceed to rise.
As such, this member map:
Yeah, I don’t actually assume this implies a lot by way of understanding the recognition or worth of the platform on this respect.
What I can let you know is that, based mostly on LinkedIn’s European utilization knowledge, which it has to report as a part of the EU DSA rules, round 28% of the platform’s EU members (as per the above map) are logging into the app every month.
Assuming that holds for different areas, then LinkedIn’s month-to-month energetic consumer depend is round 280 million, versus its billion-member headline determine.
I’d assume that the U.S. truly sees extra utilization, so perhaps it’s extra like 300 million whole MAU. However comparatively, LinkedIn’s energetic engaged viewers is way nearer to that of Reddit (189m MAU) than the larger platforms like Instagram (1b), and even X (600m).
That may present a greater measure of its precise engagement efficiency, which might assist to tell your advert spend. However then once more, LinkedIn’s viewers is fairly distinctive, so it may not make a heap of distinction both means.
Microsoft has additionally reported that point spent watching video posts within the app has elevated by 36% year-over-year, whereas feedback are up 32%.
In order that they have truly given us some actual engagement knowledge this time round, and the truth that feedback are rising so considerably is one other invaluable level, which might assist to tell your method.
I’d assume that video posts are driving a variety of these feedback, with LinkedIn additionally just lately reporting that video content material generates 1.4x extra engagement than different put up codecs. However carousel posts additionally entice a variety of engagement, in line with third-party evaluation.
LinkedIn’s additionally seeing extra of its viewers faucet into AI to realize new expertise and discover jobs.
“The variety of learners who’ve used AI-powered teaching elevated over 2X quarter-over-quarter.”
As extra folks change into conscious of AI instruments, extra folks will use them, and it’ll be fascinating to see how useful these AI coaching components could be over time.
Lastly, Microsoft additionally says that sign-ups for LinkedIn Premium Firm Pages elevated 75% quarter-over-quarter.
Although that’s additionally somewhat deceptive, as LinkedIn solely made Premium Pages obtainable in all areas final June. Which signifies that sign-ups will inevitably have elevated, based mostly on availability alone, so undecided that is really indicative.
However that is the way in which with LinkedIn, and the way in which it has been because it received acquired by Microsoft again in 2016. Because it’s now not obligated to share in-depth efficiency knowledge, as a result of it’s not a listed entity inside itself, it doesn’t, and we simply should make do with no matter scraps of information it shares with us, and take issues like “document engagement,” with no additional qualification, as reality.
However all of its knowledge factors include a “sure, however,” all of them are barely eyebrow-raising upon scrutiny.
However if you happen to wished to get a deal with on LinkedIn’s precise comparative efficiency, hopefully these explanations add context.
