Is Valve profitable?
Since it's privately held, Valve doesn't have to disclose its financial details. Some back-of-the-envelope calculations, however, suggest that the 350 people working at the company bring in $50 million in revenue -- each. That puts it ahead of tech giants like Apple, where the figure is $2.9 million per employee, or Meta (META -0.31%), at $1.9 million per employee.
In addition, operating margins for its Steam platform have been estimated at almost 60%. Its gross margins on digital distribution are estimated to exceed 95%, as the company collects a 30% commission on purely online transactions.
In short, Valve is probably incredibly profitable.
Alternatives to Valve
Since it's not a publicly traded company -- or even considering an IPO -- you can't buy Valve stock. Fortunately for video game investors, there are several publicly traded companies in the industry. Here are three options that video game fans might consider.
Electronic Arts
Redwood City, California–based Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA), founded in 1982 by a former Apple employee, has developed some of the most popular games of the last decade. It also operates major studios, including DICE, which was acquired in 2006, and BioWare, acquired the next year.
The video game developer had a market capitalization of $50.11 billion in May 2026. It posted $887 million in net income on $7.53 billion in revenue for its fiscal year ending in March 2026.
Take-Two Interactive Software
New York-based Take-Two Interactive (TTWO +1.94%) is the second-largest publicly traded game developer in the Americas and Europe. It holds two extremely popular labels: Rockstar Games and 2K.
The game company had a market cap of $41.01 billion in May 2026. Based on the first three quarters of its 2026 fiscal year, the company said in February 2026 that it expected to narrow its losses from $4.48 billion in fiscal year 2025 to less than $369 million on revenue of roughly $6.5 billion. However, Take-Two expects to rebound in its 2026 fiscal year with the release of another Grand Theft Auto game in late November.
Microsoft
Microsoft has made waves in video game development since launching its Xbox console in 2001. By one measure, Microsoft is currently fourth on the list of the biggest companies in the world, with a market capitalization of $3.01 trillion in mid-May 2026. The company reported 2025 net income of $101.83 billion on revenue of $281.7 billion, a 16% increase from the previous year.
How to buy stocks similar to Valve Software
Here's a step-by-step guide to buying stocks.
- Open your brokerage account: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments. If you don't have one yet, take a look at our favorite brokers and trading platforms to find the right one for you.
- Search for the stock: Enter the ticker into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
- Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
- Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
- Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
- Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.
