ByteDance hits $110b in sales for 2023, on track to top Tencent

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Chinese internet giant ByteDance has reportedly raked in over US$110 billion in sales for 2023, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. That means ByteDance would potentially surpass Tencent, which is on track to earn US$86 billion in revenue this year.

The news comes after ByteDance – which owns TikTok and Douyin – reportedly closed its revenue gap with Meta in the second quarter of this year, posting US$29 billion in revenue and a 40% year-on-year growth for the quarter.

Currently valued at US$225 billion, the Chinese company is also the most valuable privately owned startup globally, according to CB Insights’ research.

While ByteDance doesn’t disclose profitability figures, Financial Times previously reported that its EBITDA soared 79% to US$25 billion in 2022.

According to The Information, 80% of the company’s revenue comes from the domestic market, with the rest from international markets. However, TikTok aims to replicate Douyin’s local strategy of merging content with ecommerce in markets like Indonesia.

Notably, TikTok is set to invest US$1.5 billion in Tokopedia, acquiring a 75% stake in the ecommerce company. The mega deal would reverse the ban from the Indonesian government and allow TikTok to operate its shopping arm.

See also: TikTok Shop gets a winning hand in Indonesia via Tokopedia mega deal

ByteDance may be experiencing robust growth originating from its video-sharing platforms, but it is also is facing challenges in the video gaming sector. Recently, the company laid off more than 1,000 employees in its gaming unit Nuverse as it plans to withdraw from mainstream video games.

Correction (December 21, 6:00 pm): This article was corrected to state that Tencent is on track to earn US$86 billion in revenue this year, not US$86 million.