TikTok Parent ByteDance FY20 Revenue Climbs 111% To $34.3B: WSJ

TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd FY20 revenue jumped 111% year-on-year to $34.3 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The gross profit expanded 93% Y/Y to $19 billion.
ByteDance had about 1.9 billion monthly active users across all its platforms as FY20 compared to 1.5 billion in FY19. The company also ran viral apps like the domestic TikTok equivalent Douyin and news aggregation app Jinri Toutiao.
The numbers reflect advertisers' switch from traditional platforms to newer internet formats to tap the pandemic trapped consumers spending more time online.
ByteDance incurred a $2.1 billion operating loss in FY20 partly due to higher expenses from share-based compensation to workers. For 2019, ByteDance reported an operating profit of $684 million.
The FY20 net loss was $45 billion mainly due to an accounting adjustment for an increase in the fair value of its convertible redeemable preferred shares.
ByteDance was started in 2012 by Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Yiming. The company raised billions of dollars from global investors, including KKR & Co., Sequoia Capital, and General Atlantic. The company was valued at $180 billion in late 2020 after a fundraising round.
ByteDance is considering listing in Hong Kong or New York.
Chinese short-video app operator Kuaishou Technology went public in a Hong Kong IPO after raising $5.4 billion. Kuaishou's market capitalization was recently around $103 billion and reported 2020 revenue of $9.2 billion.
ByteDance's TikTok revenue comes mainly from advertising. It is also expanding beyond social media into gaming and e-commerce.
China's, digital-advertising sales grew over 20% in the first half of 2020 to $46.9 billion.
The short video, e-commerce, and social media platforms gained maximum popularity among Chinese marketers. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA and ByteDance grabbed the maximum digital spend.
Recently President Joe Biden revoked Donald Trump's TikTok ban over national security concerns. Biden also issued an executive order mandating a broad review of foreign apps.
ByteDance was also summoned by the Chinese authorities in 2021 for improper data use and inappropriate content amid the country's widespread crackdown on the tech industry.
Yiming resigned as the CEO following the government's growing tech scrutiny. ByteDance subsequently announced a share buyback program for employees. HR head Liang Rubo will take over as CEO. Xiaomi Corp's XIACF Chew Shou Zi became the CFO.
In June, the Cyberspace Administration of China named two of ByteDance's apps amongst 129 apps for undue collection of user information. The authority told the apps to rectify the situation. The move followed a similar order on Douyin in May.

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