ByteDance’s Revenue More Than Doubled in 2020

You might have thought TikTok’s owner ByteDance had a tough year in 2020, what with President Trump trying to ban TikTok and India actually taking that step. But none of that mattered to ByteDance’s actual business, which grew like gangbusters.

ByteDance’s revenue last year more than doubled to about $37 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said, as robust growth of ad sales by its Chinese apps offset any impact from India’s ban on TikTok and the U.S.’s threat of a ban. And it wasn’t just the top line that mushroomed: The company also generated more than $7 billion in operating profit last year, two of the people said, compared with less than $4 billion the previous year.