TikTok's Resilience Shines as Parent Company, ByteDance's Profits Surge 60%

By Thea Felicity

Apr 10, 2024 01:10 PM EDT

CHINA-HONG KONG-INTERNET-POLITICS-BYTEDANCE-TIKTOK — The ByteDance logo is seen at the entrance to a ByteDance office in Beijing on July 8, 2020. - Video sharing app TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, announced on July 6 it was pulling out of Hong Kong, less than a week after a new national security law went into effect.
(Photo : Photo by GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)

TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, reported a surge in profits in 2023, surpassing industry giants like Tencent and Alibaba Group, according to Straits Times.

In detail, the company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization soared to over $40 billion from approximately $25 billion in 2022, with sales growing to nearly $120 billion from $80 billion. Notably, this financial success marks the first time ByteDance has outpaced Tencent in revenue and profit, signaling its resilience amid the TikTok ban in the US.

While ByteDance's internal figures remain unaudited, they suggest major growth, making it one of the world's fastest-growing tech companies in 2023.

How ByteDance's Profit Surged in 2023

In an impressive feat, ByteDance became a major player in the Chinese internet industry in 2023, alongside other giants like Tencent and Alibaba.

That's because, within China, Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) is expanding its features to become more like Tencent's all-in-one messaging and social media app WeChat, branching out into e-commerce and food delivery services.

Additionally, on an International level, TikTok's success continues, with the platform aiming to increase its US e-commerce business tenfold in 2024 despite regulatory challenges. In March, VCPost reported that the US House of Representatives passed a bill threatening to ban TikTok unless ByteDance divests it, though the outcome remains uncertain.

For now, ByteDance is optimistic about its future but is undergoing restructuring by downsizing in areas with lackluster performance while prioritizing emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. The company's plans for its initial public offering (IPO) are also uncertain due to increased regulatory scrutiny, with the company offering to repurchase shares at a valuation of $268 billion.

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