Charting ByteDance’s revenue surge to surpass Tencent

You could be forgiven for thinking that 2023 was a tough year for China-based tech major ByteDance. After all, the firm’s short-video app TikTok found itself in regulatory trouble around the world, from the US to Indonesia.

Yet despite these hurdles, ByteDance overtook rival Tencent in annual revenue for the first time last year.

The Financial Times reported that ByteDance’s revenue hit US$120 billion in 2023, eclipsing the US$85 billion generated by Tencent. ByteDance is a privately held company, while Tencent is traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

As the chart above shows, ByteDance’s revenue has swelled considerably in recent years amid TikTok’s rise as one of the world’s biggest social media apps. In contrast, Tencent’s revenue dipped slightly from a six-year high of US$86.6 billion in 2021.

Positive figures aside, the future for ByteDance remains uncertain. While it completed a merger with local ecommerce player Tokopedia to keep TikTok Shop operating in Indonesia, the app still faces a possible ban in the US.

See also: US TikTok ban looms: What’s next for ByteDance?

Credits

Graphic: Peter Cowan

Editing: Eileen C. Ang