Microsoft’s Form 10-K filings put LinkedIn revenue at $19,817 million for the fiscal year to June 2026, the last full year Microsoft reported the line. Added up from the first partial year after the December 2016 deal, LinkedIn revenue under Microsoft comes to $115.6 billion, by our arithmetic, about 4.3 times the $27.0 billion purchase price.
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The key insight: Microsoft’s 10-Ks put LinkedIn revenue at $115.6 billion across fiscal 2017 to 2026, by our arithmetic, about 4.3 times the $27.0 billion purchase price; the filings report revenue, not LinkedIn’s profit.
Microsoft’s fiscal 2019 10-K says: “On December 8, 2016, we completed our acquisition of all issued and outstanding shares of LinkedIn Corporation (“LinkedIn”), the world’s largest professional network on the Internet, for a total purchase price of $27.0 billion”.
The same note says “The purchase price consisted primarily of cash of $26.9 billion” and that LinkedIn’s results “have been included in our consolidated financialstatements since the date of the acquisition”.
Cumulative LinkedIn revenue under Microsoft, fiscal 2017 to 2026, against the $27.0 billion purchase price (running totals are our arithmetic; revenue, not profit). Source: Microsoft Form 10-K filings.
Ten Fiscal Years of LinkedIn Revenue
The 10-Ks list LinkedIn revenue, in millions, as $2,271 for fiscal 2017 (from 8 December 2016 to 30 June 2017), $5,259 for 2018, $6,754 for 2019, $8,077 for 2020, $10,289 for 2021, $13,816 for 2022, $15,145 for 2023, $16,372 for 2024, $17,812 for 2025 and $19,817 for 2026.
By our arithmetic, the running total passed the $27.0 billion price during fiscal 2021, when it reached $32.7 billion, and stood at $115.6 billion by June 2026.
Annual LinkedIn revenue in fiscal 2026 was 3.8 times the first full year under Microsoft, fiscal 2018, a compound rate of about 18% a year, by our arithmetic.
Growth Peaked in 2022, Then Settled
By our arithmetic from the same figures, LinkedIn revenue grew 28.4% in fiscal 2019, 19.6% in 2020, 27.4% in 2021 and 34.3% in 2022, then 9.6% in 2023, 8.1% in 2024, 8.8% in 2025 and 11.3% in 2026.
The 10-Ks gave their own reasons. Fiscal 2019: “LinkedIn revenue increased $1.5 billion or 28%, driven by growth across each line of business”. Fiscal 2021: “LinkedIn revenue increased $2.2 billion or 27% driven by advertising demand in our Marketing Solutions business”. Fiscal 2023: “LinkedIn revenue increased $1.3 billion or 10% driven by Talent Solutions”. Fiscal 2026: “LinkedIn revenue increased $2.0 billion or 11% with growth across all lines of business”.
A Smaller Share of a Faster Microsoft
LinkedIn was 4.8% of Microsoft’s total revenue in fiscal 2018, by our arithmetic from the 10-K totals. Its share peaked at 7.1% in fiscal 2023 and fell to 6.0% in fiscal 2026, when Microsoft’s total revenue reached $331.8 billion.
Over the three years to fiscal 2026, Microsoft’s total revenue rose from $211.9 billion to $331.8 billion while LinkedIn rose from $15.1 billion to $19.8 billion.
What Microsoft Reports Now
From this quarter, LinkedIn’s businesses sit inside two broader Microsoft lines, as our earlier piece sets out. On the 28 October call, chief financial officer Amy Hood said “Industry solutions cloud revenue increased 10% with growth in Dynamics 365 and LinkedIn Talent Solutions, though bookings trends continued to moderate”.
Chief executive Satya Nadella gave usage figures instead of revenue: “In LinkedIn, engagement continues to deepen across our more than 1.4 billion members, with time spent viewing content in the Feed up over 15 percent year over year”, and “25,000 customers are using our agentic hiring solutions”.
As we read the 10-K tables, LinkedIn’s growth came in two phases: 19.6% to 34.3% a year from fiscal 2019 to 2022, then 8.1% to 11.3% from fiscal 2023 to 2026, by our arithmetic.
By our arithmetic, LinkedIn’s share of Microsoft revenue peaked at 7.1% in fiscal 2023 and was 6.0% in fiscal 2026, as the rest of Microsoft grew faster.
As we read the filings, Microsoft now describes LinkedIn through members, Feed time and agentic hiring customers on its calls, while its revenue sits inside two broader lines.
Microsoft Form 10-K, fiscal 2026
“LinkedIn revenue increased $2.0 billion or 11% with growth across all lines of business”
Three Implications
FOR INVESTORS By our arithmetic, LinkedIn’s fiscal 2026 revenue of $19,817 million was 6.0% of Microsoft’s total; from fiscal 2027 the 10-Q reports it inside Industry solutions and Search and advertising.
FOR ANALYSTS Microsoft’s 10-Ks do not report LinkedIn operating income, so the 4.3 times figure compares revenue with price, not profit with price.
FOR LINKEDIN’S CUSTOMERS Nadella said 25,000 customers are using LinkedIn’s agentic hiring solutions.
The framework says that “In the embedding era, value comes from what the software connects to”.
Microsoft’s 10-Ks show LinkedIn revenue reaching $19,817 million a year before Microsoft folded it into two broader lines. The framework does not discuss Microsoft or LinkedIn.
What Is Not Established
The $115.6 billion is revenue, not profit. Microsoft’s 10-Ks do not report LinkedIn’s operating income or costs, so the filings do not show whether or when the deal paid back its price. The 4.3 times multiple, the running totals, the growth rates and the shares of revenue are our arithmetic.
Each year’s figure is taken from the 10-K covering it or the next two years; Microsoft’s segment and product reporting changed several times over the decade, and the LinkedIn line itself is no longer reported from fiscal 2027.
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Microsoft’s 10-Ks put LinkedIn revenue at $115.6 billion across fiscal 2017 to 2026, by our arithmetic, about 4.3 times the $27.0 billion Microsoft paid in December 2016, with annual revenue reaching $19,817 million in the last year the line was reported.
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A note on sourcing. Figures come from Microsoft’s Form 10-K filings for fiscal 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2026 and from its official FY27 Q1 prepared remarks. Running totals, the 4.3 times multiple, growth rates, the compound rate and shares of revenue are our arithmetic; linked earlier pieces carry their own sources.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
