Social media war: Who’s making money, how much and from where

Here is where the top five social networks currently stand and how they have grown over the years:

Microsoft will buy LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in its biggest-ever deal. The move is seen as an effort to make the software company a major force in next-generation computing.

Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Google+ are the top social media networks in terms of users and revenue. (Fotolia)

LinkedIn will remain its own entity in the way that YouTube is relatively independent from parent Alphabet, or Instagram from parent Facebook.

Monday’s deal raised investors’ hopes that another social media company, Twitter, could be the next acquisition target, sending that company’s shares up almost 4%.

Here is where the top five social networks currently stand and how they have grown over the years:

Financials – Who is making how much money?

Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in biggest ever tech deal