ByteDance's revenue increased in the first half of the year, but profits did not keep pace, as massive AI investments eroded profitability, with net profit falling to approximately $20 billion.

BlockBeats news, September 16 — According to The Information, three people familiar with the matter revealed that ByteDance's net profit in the first half of this year fell by a single-digit percentage year-over-year to about $20 billion, while revenue grew about 30% year-over-year to about $120 billion over the same period. Meanwhile, Meta's revenue also grew 30% in the first half to $117 billion, with the two companies' revenue scales now nearly on par, yet their market valuations diverge sharply: Meta's market capitalization is about $1.7 trillion, while ByteDance is valued at $630 billion according to estimates by secondary market trading tracker CapLight.

ByteDance is standing at a crossroads between scale expansion and profit pressure. Revenue grew strongly in the first half, but massive AI investment is eroding its profitability, with profits seeing a rare decline in years. The core driver of the profit decline is the sharp rise in AI spending. ByteDance recently completed the largest bank loan in its history at about $30 billion, some of which is expected to support its continuously expanding AI infrastructure investment. At the same time, TikTok's U.S. business, after completing a data security architecture restructuring in January this year, is accelerating e-commerce expansion, providing important support for overall revenue growth.