Its flagship Chinese video platform Douyin is grappling with waning consumption and advertising spending across the world’s second-largest economy
Published Fri, May 16, 2025 · 11:10 AM
[HONG KONG] ByteDance is targeting revenue growth of about 20 per cent in 2025 despite a potential global economic downturn, a pace of expansion that could help it match Meta Platforms’ global business.
TikTok’s owner expects sales to increase to roughly US$186 billion from US$155 billion in 2024, sources familiar with its finances said. That caps years of 20-plus growth and would take the Chinese Internet leader to just a whisker below Meta’s projected revenue of about US$187 billion this year.
ByteDance now claims more than four billion monthly active users for its suite of apps, in the ballpark of Meta’s, the sources said, asking to remain anonymous discussing private projections.
TikTok’s dizzying ascent has come under the spotlight since the Biden administration led an effort to ban the Chinese-owned social media phenom from the US, citing national security concerns. Trump in turn is giving ByteDance time to strike a deal to sell TikTok – a months-long process that’s already drawn interest from the likes of Amazon.com to Oracle.
Despite the threat of a US shutout, ByteDance’s international business has soared as TikTok expands globally. While its envisioned 2025 growth rate is down slightly from last year’s 29 per cent, that target may shift as executives get a better sense of the business.
A ByteDance spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund revalued the company to north of US$400 billion last year, in part because of its growing presence in generative artificial intelligence. Fidelity Investments and T Rowe Price Group have also marked up ByteDance, valuing it at above US$410 billion and US$450 billion, respectively, Bloomberg News has reported.
Still, growth overall for the startup slowed sharply from 2023.
Its flagship Chinese video platform Douyin is grappling with waning consumption and advertising spending across the world’s second-largest economy. TikTok – a near-identical replica of its Chinese cousin – has in the meantime taken up more of the burden for topline growth. BLOOMBERG
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