ByteDance Grows, China Slows

ByteDance, the tech beast behind TikTok. In 2024, they pulled off a crazy 29% jump in revenue, hitting a whopping $155 billion. And the MVP? No surprise here: TikTok. While its China-based business is feeling the squeeze from an economic slowdown, TikTok’s global expansion is basically carrying the squad on its back.

International sales? Up 63%. That’s $39 billion and about a quarter of ByteDance’s total revenue. Meanwhile, net profit cruised up to around $33 billion. That’s not pocket change. Investors are now valuing the company at over $400 billion. It’s giving tech titan energy, for real.

But don’t let the hype fool you—things aren’t smooth sailing everywhere. Back in China, their local TikTok twin, Douyin, is feeling the pressure from a shaky economy and tighter spending. ByteDance’s home turf is no longer the growth machine it used to be. So the company’s leaning harder than ever on TikTok’s global hustle. And honestly? It’s working—for now.

We previously reported that ByteDance was valued at approximately $400 billion, thanks to the growth of artificial intelligence.

TikTok is still in hot water with the U.S. government. The Trump administration gave them another 75-day extension to either sell or get out of the U.S. entirely. ByteDance is now scrambling to cut a deal that won’t piss off Washington or Beijing. Not exactly an easy task when the two superpowers are throwing shade like it’s the Cold War 2.0.

And guess who just slid into the DMs of the White House? Amazon. Yep, that Amazon. They’re trying to snatch TikTok with a fat check. AppLovin (kind of a wildcard in all this) is also reportedly in the mix. Basically, TikTok’s future in the U.S. is one big bidding war, with geopolitics lurking in the background like a jump scare.

All this drama is happening while TikTok’s U.S. e-commerce game is heating up. The app’s trying to turn into a full-blown shopping hub—think Amazon meets Instagram—but tariffs and trade tension could absolutely wreck that momentum. If Washington slaps more tariffs on Chinese imports, TikTok’s cross-border seller model might take a direct hit.

ByteDance, though, isn’t just banking on short-form videos and drama. They’ve got their eyes on the next tech gold rush: generative AI. Their Chinese chatbot “Doubao” is popping off, and they’re testing AI for everything from video gen to coding tools. Basically, they want a slice of the same pie that OpenAI, Google, and Meta are feasting on.

But here’s the weird part: while investors see ByteDance as a $400B+ juggernaut, the company itself is buying back employee shares at a lower $312B valuation. Smart move? Maybe. It’s giving “stay humble, but not too humble.” Either way, it shows confidence that they’ve still got room to climb—even if China’s growth engine is sputtering a bit.

So yeah—TikTok’s global flex is real, ByteDance’s China vibes are a little shaky, and the whole U.S. standoff is basically a high-stakes reality show. Add some AI sauce into the mix, and we’ve got ourselves one of the wildest tech storylines of 2025.