What every investor should know about ByteDance stock before its IPO
TikTok, the popular social media app trending worldwide since 2016, needs little introduction. The mystery of who owns TikTok persists, despite all the buzz around the app. Who owns Tiktok, and can I buy shares in them?
By reading this article, please find out the latest information on the company that owns Tiktok and how to invest in it.
Who Owns TikTok?
ByteDance, a private company with headquarters in Beijing, owns TikTok.
ByteDance, which owns TikTok, was established in 2012. In 2016, the company released Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. TikTok was released by ByteDance in 2017 to reach users worldwide. In 2018, the firm combined TikTok and Musical.ly to attract a much wider audience.
Former CEO Zhang Yiming started ByteDance in his Beijing residence in 2012. ByteDance has come a long way from its early days, and by September 2022, it is expected to be valued at almost $300 billion. ByteDance runs several applications all around the world.
Since its inception, the company has relied on Oracle Cloud to store customer information in the United States.
What Is ByteDance?
With its headquarters in Beijing, China, ByteDance Ltd. was established in the Cayman Islands. Zhang Yiming, Liang Rubo, and others founded ByteDance, which created TikTok and its Chinese counterpart, Douyin, in 2012. The company also made the news app Toutiao.
GiveIndia, the World Wildlife Fund, the British Olympic Committee, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are just a few charities that ByteDance works with.
How to Buy the ByteDance IPO
There have been rumors of a potential IPO for ByteDance for years. It’s possible that its initial public offering will be the biggest of all time.
When ByteDance stock becomes available, you can purchase it by following these steps:
- Open a stock trading account or access an existing one.
- Search for ByteDance.
- Select the number of shares to buy.
- Place your trade.
- Keep an eye on your portfolio.
Please, note that you cannot buy shares in ByteDance on any stock market at the present moment.
Which Markets Does ByteDance Invest in?
While ByteDance is best known for its financial investments in the social media sector, the company also has significant holdings in the media, gaming, and academic sectors.
ByteDance’s healthcare subsidiary, Xiaohe Health, spent $1.5 billion in 2022 to acquire a group of high-end hospitals in China. ByteDance’s assets were further diversified thanks to this transaction, and the firm sent a strong signal about its confidence in healthcare IT.
Strange as it may sound, another Chinese firm, Tencent Holdings, has shown an interest in healthcare asset diversification. Although it is too early to draw firm conclusions, other technology firms will likely follow suit.
Also owned and run by ByteDance is Toutiao, a well-known news app in China. Although Toutiao was ByteDance’s first product, TikTok is the company’s most popular creation.
Lemon8 by ByteDance: What Is It?
Lemon8 is a platform for sharing and discovering varied, genuine, and aesthetically pleasing content created for a young and vibrant community. Think of it as a combination of Instagram and Pinterest aimed at a Generation Z audience, complete with the curated photos, product focus, and organization tools of both services, plus a dash of lifestyle content like fashion and food to set it apart.
Lemon8 combines the best features of two different applications into one.
Lemon8 uses the same algorithm and recommendation engine as TikTok, which has set TikTok apart from other social networks. The app has a lot of original material, but how they can make money from it needs to be clarified. That may be why so few of the world’s most prominent influencers have signed up.
ByteDance’s IPO and Earnings for 2023
Last year, ByteDance beat China’s super-tech giants Tencent and Alibaba for the first time, despite mounting losses at its quickly growing TikTok division. Two investors informed of the statistics estimate that ByteDance’s favored profitability metric—earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization—rose by 79% in 2022 to almost $25 billion.
That’s a nice increase from the roughly $14 billion spent the year before. As a result of increased marketing spending on the rapidly growing TikTok and Douyin, ByteDance’s reported profit for 2022 was based on about $85 billion in sales, an increase of more than 30% from the previous year. ByteDance’s meteoric ascent has allowed it to overtake China’s listed tech titans, Tencent and Alibaba. Both reported $23.9 billion and $22.5 billion for 2022, respectively. Last year, ByteDance was valued at $300 billion.
In the previous two years, Beijing’s regulatory onslaught on the country’s IT giants has devastated both industries. TikTok’s security has been a growing worry for governments and authorities throughout the globe, which has coincided with ByteDance’s meteoric rise. The government of the United States has reportedly demanded either the app’s complete removal or its sale. Despite warnings from legal experts that a US-wide ban on TikTok or forced divestment would be challenging to achieve and likely to become mired in litigation, the company’s investors seem unfazed by the prospect.
Final Thoughts on ByteDance Stock
ByteDance is a privately held company; hence, its stock is not publicly traded. An initial public offering, however, has been planned for some time. These initiatives have been put on hold while ByteDance addresses regulatory concerns in China.
Recent estimates put its value at around $250 billion; hence, a ByteDance IPO would be one of the largest ever. Pre-IPO investors may still get in on the action by purchasing shares of the company’s owners, such as SoftBank Group Corporation and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKK).
The ominous political cloud looming over ByteDance has hampered its IPO hopes. After Beijing initiated a widespread tech crackdown in late 2020, Ant Group’s IPO was canceled, delaying the company’s planned floatation on the Hong Kong stock market.
Therefore, the ByteDance IPO schedule is unclear.
FAQs on ByteDance Stock
What caused TikTok’s meteoric rise to fame?
TikTok has seen several transformations during the last few years. Musical.ly, a Chinese app that debuted in 2014, served as an inspiration for TikTok. ByteDance spent over $1 billion to acquire Musical.ly in 2017 after it had become one of the most popular applications globally. TikTok’s worldwide reach was expanded, as was its pool of users and content providers when ByteDance joined it with Musical.ly.
How can I buy shares in ByteDance?
There is no direct way to acquire ownership in ByteDance since it is not a publicly listed corporation. ByteDance is a company where you may invest indirectly by purchasing SoftBank Group or Kohlberg Kravis shares.
What is the value of a ByteDance share?
ByteDance has a $250 billion market cap. However, the stock price of ByteDance is not listed on any brokerage or trading platform. In the event of an IPO, the cost of ByteDance shares will be equal to the value divided by the total number of shares.
Who owns TikTok?
ByteDance, a private business with headquarters in Beijing, is the owner of TikTok. ByteDance, which owns TikTok, was established in 2012.
What is the stock ticker symbol for ByteDance?
ByteDance has not yet settled on a stock ticker symbol. The ticker symbol will be disclosed in the paperwork when the firm goes public.
Who are ByteDance’s shareholders?
ByteDance has dozens of investors, most of whom are VC companies. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, among others, have business dealings with ByteDance. The Softbank Group and the NYSE-listed investment company Kohlberg Kravis are possible shareholders in ByteDance.
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