ByteDance profit jumps 60% to US$40 billion, taking TikTok’s owner past arch-rival Tencent

The world’s most valuable start-up grew sales to nearly US$120 billion in 2023 from US$80 billion in 2022, people familiar said

ByteDance in December offered to buy back up to US$5 billion of its own shares from investors, valuing the start-up at US$268 billion

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ByteDance is cementing its status as one of China’s fastest growing tech juggernauts. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Published: 4:45pm, 10 Apr 2024

ByteDance’s profit surged roughly 60 per cent in 2023, outpacing the growth of online peers Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding, in a sign of the TikTok owner’s resilience in the face of an economic downturn.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped to more than US$40 billion from about US$25 billion in 2022, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing private information. The world’s most valuable start-up also grew sales to nearly US$120 billion from US$80 billion, the people said.

The results mark the first time that ByteDance has overtaken arch-rival Tencent both in revenue and profit as it leveraged its popular short-video platforms to expand into international e-commerce. While ByteDance’s internal figures have not been independently audited, they suggest the ad-churning social media juggernaut became one of the world’s fastest-growing tech giants in 2023.

A ByteDance spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.