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TikTok-owner ByteDance said to have hit US$3 billion in net profit last year, showing brisk growth

  • ByteDance generated more than US$17 billion in revenue and more than US$3 billion in net profit last year, according to people familiar with the matter
  • The revenue for last year is more than double the company’s tally of about US$7.4 billion in 2018

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Tik Tok logos are seen on smartphones in front of a displayed ByteDance logo in this illustration taken November 27, 2019. Photo: Reuters
TikTok parent-company ByteDance generated more than US$17 billion in revenue and more than US$3 billion in net profit last year, figures that show the start-up, already the most valuable in the world, is growing at a brisk rate, according to people familiar with the matter.

The revenue for last year is more than double the company’s tally of about US$7.4 billion in 2018. The people asked not to be identified because the financial details are private.

ByteDance has emerged as one of the tech industry’s most surprising success stories, an innovative Chinese company that is challenging the global dominance of US internet giants.

It draws some 1.5 billion monthly active users to a family of apps that includes the TikTok short-video platform, its Chinese twin Douyin and the news service Toutiao. This month, the company poached Walt Disney Company streaming tsar Kevin Mayer to become chief executive officer of TikTok.
ByteDance, led by Zhang Yiming, is becoming a viable rival to the dominant American online behemoths, Facebook and Alphabet. Facebook unit Instagram brought in about US$20 billion in advertising revenue in 2019, Bloomberg previously reported. Google said its video unit YouTube recorded US$15.1 billion in ad sales last year.

ByteDance representatives did not respond to a request for comment.

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