ByteDance’s Profit Surges 79%, Exceeding Alibaba and Tencent

ByteDance Ltd.’s profit last year soared to a record, surpassing that of China technology giants Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. for the first time, the Financial Times reported.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or Ebitda, jumped 79 percent to about $25 billion in 2022, the report said, citing two investors briefed on the numbers. Tencent reported Ebitda of 164 billion yuan ($23.9 billion) for 2022 in its preliminary earnings statement, while Alibaba’s figure for the same period is about $22.7 billion, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.

Bloomberg reported last week that ByteDance’s revenue surged more than 30 percent to surpass $80 billion in 2022, matching the tally at archrival Tencent, after twin video platforms TikTok and Douyin drew eyeballs and advertisers from social media incumbents.

That double-digit growth topped most of the global internet leaders including Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon Inc., underscoring the resilience of ByteDance’s business at a time Washington is threatening to join India in banning TikTok, which a growing number of government agencies across the world are wiping from official phones.

ByteDance’s profit last year came despite mounting losses at fast-growing TikTok, according to the Financial Times. TikTok has amassed more than 150 million monthly users in America, spurring concerns about China’s access to the data it gathers. Its chief executive sat through a hostile congressional hearing, during which he did little to sway some of the loudest critics.

Douyin, though, remains ByteDance’s biggest cash cow. The still-robust growth at the world’s most valuable private tech firm could boost confidence among investors shaken by recent global events. The Chinese social media behemoth was valued at around $220 billion in a recent private-market investment by Abu Dhabi AI firm G42, down from the $300 billion that TikTok’s owner set during a September share buyback program.

By Ameya Karve

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