ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has generated more revenue than Meta, the giant behind Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. This historic achievement comes as ByteDance prepares to launch a new share buyback program aimed at its employees, which would place the company’s valuation at over $330 billion, according to Reuters.
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During the second quarter of 2025, ByteDance recorded revenues close to $48 billion, representing a 25% year-over-year growth. In comparison, Meta reached $42.3 billion during the same period. TikTok was one of the key drivers of this surge, mainly fueled by strong advertising demand, both in the Chinese market and globally.
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What is the purpose of ByteDance’s new share buyback?
The company will offer $200.41 per share to current employees as part of its buyback program. This represents a 5.5% increase compared to the $189.90 it paid six months ago, when ByteDance’s valuation stood at around $315 billion. This new round of buybacks is expected to begin in the fall and boost internal morale, especially among U.S. employees who face uncertainty about a potential TikTok ban by the U.S. government.
These semiannual buybacks not only offer liquidity to employees of a company that has not yet gone public, but also reflect unusual financial strength, as ByteDance has not relied on external capital for these operations. Unlike other private tech firms such as SpaceX or OpenAI, ByteDance has consistently funded these initiatives directly from its own balance sheet, which is a sign of healthy margins and robust cash flow.
TikTok, the key to ByteDance’s success
TikTok has evolved beyond being a mere entertainment app. Its monetization capability has grown significantly thanks to a sophisticated ecosystem of advertising, e-commerce, and AI-driven content creation. A large portion of ByteDance’s revenue still comes from its home market in China—where it also operates platforms like Douyin (the local version of TikTok)—but international growth, particularly in the United States, Europe, and Latin America, has been crucial to its current leadership.
Additionally, ByteDance has invested billions of dollars in artificial intelligence, acquiring Nvidia chips, building infrastructure, and developing its own models. This positions the company as one of China’s tech leaders in the AI field, further strengthening TikTok as a platform powered by highly efficient recommendation algorithms.
Why is ByteDance worth less than Meta despite generating more?
Despite surpassing Meta in revenue during the first and second quarters of 2025, ByteDance’s estimated valuation ($330 billion) is only about one-fifth of Meta’s market capitalization, which stands at around $1.9 trillion. The reason? Political and regulatory risk.
ByteDance is under intense pressure in the United States. In 2024, Congress passed a law requiring the company to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets by January 19, 2025, or face a nationwide ban of the app. Although former President Donald Trump has granted several extensions—most recently until September 17—the future of TikTok in the U.S. remains uncertain.
Who could buy TikTok in the United States?
If the sale goes through, the U.S. business of TikTok is expected to be acquired by a joint venture between ByteDance and a consortium of U.S. investors, in which the Chinese company would retain a minority stake.
The leading consortium includes big names like Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic, KKR, and Andreessen Horowitz. On the other hand, Blackstone recently withdrew from the group due to several delays in negotiations. According to Reuters, TikTok has also been exploring the development of an independent version of its app for the U.S. market, although it’s still unclear whether this alternative will materialize.
