What’s a better sign of confidence than a company buying back its own stock at a higher price?
ByteDance, the Chinese tech giant behind TikTok, is doing just that.
Rolling out a new employee share buyback that values the firm at more than $330 billion. That’s up from $315bn just six months ago.
The offer? $200.41 per share, a 5.5% jump from the last round.
Employees get liquidity, and ByteDance shows off its financial muscle without leaning on outside investors — unlike peers such as SpaceX or OpenAI.
Instead, it’s funding buybacks from its own balance sheet, signaling robust margins and strong cash flow.
And business is booming. In Q2 alone, ByteDance raked in about $48bn in revenue, a 25% year-on-year surge.
That puts it ahead of Meta — Facebook and Instagram’s parent — making ByteDance the world’s top social media company by sales.
Why The Uncertainty?
Most of that money comes from its home market, even as TikTok’s future in the US remains uncertain.
Washington is still pressuring ByteDance to sell TikTok’s American arm over national security concerns.
Former President Trump extended the deadline to September 17, but critics say the delays risk ignoring potential threats.
So here’s the irony: ByteDance might be the world’s richest social media company, but in America, it’s still fighting to keep its crown jewel.
