[zukzuk]

A not-so-subtle way of pointing out that these are all profit-seeking companies? A lot like how people used to write Micro$oft, back when Bill Gates was the nerds' devil. We're all sophisticated financially-aware grown ups now, so we've moved on to ticker symbols, as a way of signalling our enlightenment.

[bitwize]

Just the opposite. It actually started in the 90s during the dotcom mania when what a company was doing, for good or ill, became eclipsed by how much money its stock could make the reader base. Ostensible tech sites turned into The Wall Street Journal. During the early 90s it was "Microsoft announces a new version of Windows. Here are the features you can look forward to (or dread)!" The late 90s turned more toward "Microsoft (MSFT) experienced a stock price jump when it announced a new version of Windows."

[mc32]

I tend to agree. It's a way to signal that one is above the everyman and everywoman who don't indulge in the cants and argots that abound in the industry.

On average, when people can, they do try to sound more sophisticated than necessary to express a message, including in this message.