The main Irish arm of social media giant LinkedIn paid a dividend of $400 million (€341 million) to its parent Microsoft last year.
This is revealed in accounts just filed for LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company for the 12 months to the end of June 2025.
By comparison, the LinkedIn Irish unit paid a dividend of $150 million in the 18 months to the end of June 2024. The different reporting periods reflect a move by LinkedIn to align its financial year with that of Microsoft.
The accounts also show that LinkedIn, which connects professionals on the web, paid the State $52.5 million in corporation tax last year. This compared with a figure of $62.4 million in the previous 18-month period.
READ MORE
Its effective corporate tax rate for the 12-month period was 17 per cent, well above the headline 12.5 per cent rate that applied at the time. This was due to interest income being taxed at a rate of 25 per cent.
Like many other Big Tech companies, LinkedIn’s Dublin base is a regional hub for Europe and other international markets, with revenues and activity funnelled through Ireland.
Inflation remains steady; and Conor Pope’s energy saving tips
The company formally moved into new offices in March of last year at number 4 Wilton Park, making the Dublin campus its largest outside the United States.
LinkedIn Ireland posted revenues of $6.6 billion last year, up 11 per cent on a like-for-like basis with the previous year, the accounts state.
Its pretax profit for the 12 months was $311.4 million, compared with $427 million in the prior 18-month period. The company closed the financial year with accumulated profits of $709 million.
The financial statements, which were approved by the board on February 18th, noted a 3 per cent reduction in its employees here during the period. Average staff numbers declined to 2,061 from 2,135.
In May of last year, LinkedIn announced a global restructuring plan, with 3 per cent of employees being made redundant.
Some $11.7 million in severance pay was recorded in the Irish accounts during the year.
LinkedIn’s wages and salaries bill totalled $232.2 million last year, resulting in staff here on average being paid $112,686.
Directors’ remuneration rose sharply to $2.3 million last year, up from $840,318 in the previous reporting period.
The accounts also note that post the year-end, Irish media regulator Coimisiún na Meán had started an investigation into the company in relation to breaches of the Digital Services Act.
At issue is whether LinkedIn allowed people to report suspected child sexual abuse material anonymously, as required under the law. Providers are required to have reporting mechanisms that are easy to access and user-friendly for reporting content considered to be illegal.
“At the time of approval of the financial statements it is too early to determine the outcome of financial effect of this investigation,” the LinkedIn accounts state.
The accounts note that LinkedIn has more than one billion members in about 200 countries. The Irish entity recorded $1.25 billion in subscriber income, up more than 25 per cent on the previous reporting period.
