Microsoft operates LinkedIn and became the world’s largest software company by revenue in 2019.
Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. Its early success came from software for personal computers, especially the MS-DOS operating system and Microsoft Windows. It later built major businesses in productivity software, cloud computing, gaming, enterprise services, and professional networking.
Microsoft purchased LinkedIn in 2016. LinkedIn remains a professional-networking platform, while Microsoft sells products such as Microsoft 365, Azure, Windows, Xbox, and Dynamics. The combination gives Microsoft revenue from subscriptions, cloud services, software licenses, advertising, and hardware.
Revenue rankings and market-capitalization rankings are different. Revenue measures money generated by sales over a period; market capitalization measures the market value of outstanding shares. Microsoft can rank highly on both measures, but the rankings do not answer the same question. Its shares trade on the Nasdaq under MSFT.