HN doesn't make money right now but they can certainly do it if they start to charge companies for making job posts. Currently, companies are posting under a post called who's hiring regularly which will be a significant source of revenue stream for HN. On top of that, there's a separate tab called jobs with a fewer number of companies which HN can charge at higher price. That being said, I think HN offers lots of values not just for average users like us but also for the companies. This can translate into a huge valuation if it were a startup.