TikTok owner ByteDance on track for $50 billion profit in 2025
(Bloomberg) — ByteDance Ltd. is on track to generate nearly $50 billion in profits in 2025; This tops a record year for a Chinese social media leader making a big push into e-commerce and new markets.
Beijing-based TikTok’s parent company is on track to hit that milestone after generating nearly $40 billion in net revenue in the first three quarters of the year, people familiar with the matter said. The company’s 2025 internal target has already been exceeded, said the people, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss private financial matters. That would put the company’s earnings close to those of its U.S. rival Meta Platforms Inc., which is expected to earn about $60 billion this year.
A ByteDance spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
TikTok’s success has come under scrutiny after the Biden administration led an effort to ban the Chinese-owned social media phenomenon in the United States, citing national security concerns. ByteDance is currently close to finalizing a plan to eliminate its video service in the US; This will ensure the survival of the platform while loosening the control of the Chinese company.
TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Chew told employees that ByteDance is majority owned by Oracle Corp., according to an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg. It said it had signed binding agreements to create a joint venture owned by American investors, including Chinese regulators have not yet said whether they will approve the transaction, which is a key requirement for the deal to proceed.
Despite Washington’s scrutiny, TikTok has expanded rapidly globally, including in the United States. Amazon.com Inc. It is aggressively pushing into e-commerce and live shopping, including partnering with major American tech companies such as The same day Chew announced a deal had been reached, TikTok held its first Oscar-style red carpet show, The TikTok Awards, in Los Angeles.
It’s unclear how much ByteDance has increased its revenue this year. According to Bloomberg News, the company aims to reach $186 billion with an approximately 20% increase in sales in 2025.
This will limit the company, founded by Zhang Yiming in 2012, from growing by more than 20% over the years. ByteDance has created several of China’s most popular digital services, including Toutiao and Douyin, a version of TikTok for the mainland market. It is also located in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. It competes with in the field of artificial intelligence, developing large language models, chatbots and other services.
The top-line growth will push the Chinese internet leader slightly below Meta’s estimated revenue of around $200 billion this year. ByteDance is also on Meta’s playing field, claiming more than 4 billion monthly active users for its suite of apps.
SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund revalued the company at more than $400 billion last year, in part because of its growing presence in productive artificial intelligence. According to Bloomberg News, Fidelity Investments and T. Rowe Price Group Inc. de marked ByteDance with a valuation of over $410 billion and $450 billion respectively. A Chinese investment firm recently acquired ByteDance Ltd at a valuation of $480 billion, well above recent levels, indicating strong investor interest. He bought a block of its shares.
Meta’s valuation is approximately $1.7 trillion, the sixth-highest in the world through Thursday’s U.S. market close.
Still, growth for ByteDance is likely to be slower than in previous years. Douyin, its main source of revenue, is struggling with declining consumption and advertising spending in the world’s second-largest economy. TikTok, a near-identical copy, has meanwhile borne more of the brunt of revenue growth.
—With help from Zheping Huang.
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