LinkedIn

LinkedIn in brief

• Rank: #45 of 100 in America's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026; #8 of 11 in Media & Entertainment.
• WCRC Power Score: 73.64 out of 100.
• Founded: 2002, by Reid Hoffman, Allen Blue, Konstantin Guericke, Eric Ly and Jean-Luc Vaillant.
• Owner: Microsoft Corporation, Sunnyvale, California.
• Leadership: Daniel Shapero, CEO of LinkedIn since April 2026 (Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft).
• Latest revenue: $331.8bn revenue (FY2026, year to Jun, +17.8%), group revenue of Microsoft Corporation, as per company filings.

What makes LinkedIn powerful

LinkedIn is where working life goes online. The network has more than 1.4 billion members and 71 million companies, and it lists more than 42,000 skills. For recruiters, job seekers and business buyers, a LinkedIn profile has become as standard as a resume.

That scale gives LinkedIn a strong network effect. Every new member makes the platform more useful for hiring, selling and learning, and every company page adds to the pull. LinkedIn earns money from several streams, including recruiting tools, premium subscriptions and advertising aimed at professionals. It recently reached about $5 billion in quarterly revenue. As part of Microsoft, LinkedIn has also become a bridge to Microsoft's work software, which deepens its place in office life.

LinkedIn counts more than 1.4 billion members and lists more than 42,000 skills on its platform.

Why LinkedIn ranks #45

LinkedIn ranks #45 with a WCRC Power Score of 73.64, just below Monster and UPS and just above Eli Lilly and Tide. The margins are very small. LinkedIn scores well on digital and financial strength and on positioning and recall among working adults. It sits below UPS because it reaches a narrower slice of daily life. It edges Eli Lilly and Tide thanks to its huge global network, though debates over data use weigh on its consumer trust and governance pillars.

The Achilles' heel

LinkedIn's weak spot is trust in how it uses members' data. Starting November 3, 2025, it began using member profiles, posts and other content to train generative AI models in regions including the EEA, Switzerland and the UK, unless members opted out. In Canada and Hong Kong it began sharing more member data with Microsoft for ad personalization. The change drew public warnings urging users to block it, and a feed crowded with AI-written posts risks wearing down engagement.

The 2026 story

LinkedIn's 2026 brought its first change at the top in six years. On April 22, 2026, Microsoft named Daniel Shapero, LinkedIn's chief operating officer, who joined the company in 2008, as CEO. Ryan Roslansky, CEO since 2020, kept oversight of LinkedIn as Microsoft's executive vice president for LinkedIn and Microsoft Office. Engineering chief Mohak Shroff became president of platforms and digital work. The handover came as LinkedIn reached about $5 billion in quarterly revenue and as it moved deeper into AI, after expanding the use of member data for AI training in November 2025.

Pillar profile

LinkedIn's full 50-parameter profile is published on its World's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026 page.

Versus its nearest rivals

Questions people ask

Also featured in

• Most powerful Media & Entertainment brands
• America's 50 Most Valuable Brands
• American Global Powerhouses
• Most powerful brands in California

Key facts

Sources

• Annual report (Form 10-K) and financial results of Microsoft Corporation filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission
• Company website, official announcements and press releases
• Published interviews and statements by the leadership
• WCRC Business Intelligence Unit research: consumer sentiment, ratings and reviews, search demand, media and social data