In over 4 decades of Microsoft’s existence, the largest software-maker has been able to connect with over 1 billion users. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s objective for the acquisition echoed in his statement “ Together we can accelerate the growth of LinkedIn, as well as Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics as we seek to empower every person and organization on the planet.” (Microsoft News Center, 2016). LinkedIn was bought by Microsoft in an all-cash transaction at $26.2 billion for $196 per share. RELATED: Microsoft profits rise 47% to $16.One of the biggest information technology companies in the world announced its merger with the world’s largest professional network on June 13th 2016. But it looked to be on a trajectory toward profitability before Microsoft stopped disclosing LinkedIn’s operating profits.ĭiscussing the results Tuesday, Nadella said LinkedIn now has 774 million members, and user sessions were up 30% in the quarter compared with a year ago. LinkedIn ran at a loss initially inside Microsoft due to long-term costs associated with the acquisition, as we reported at the time.

LinkedIn was profitable earlier in its life as a standalone public company, before posting a $165 million loss on $3 billion in revenue in 2015, prior to the Microsoft acquisition. Microsoft stopped reporting LinkedIn’s operating profits publicly in its 2019 fiscal year. Other businesses that have crossed that threshold in recent years at the company including gaming and security.Įven with all the growth, it’s not clear if LinkedIn is profitable, at least not officially. The $10 billion revenue threshold is considered a key milestone of success inside Microsoft. He cited as examples LinkedIn’s integrations with Office, Dynamics 365 and the new Microsoft Viva employee experience platform. Still, on the call Tuesday afternoon, Nadella made it clear that LinkedIn’s independence hasn’t kept it from working with other parts of Microsoft.

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