Catenaa, Friday, September 26, 2025- The Trump administration has estimated a valuation of $14 billion for TikTok’s US business, surprising investors who say a deal at that price would be a bargain for potential buyers.
The rough estimate, cited by Vice President JD Vance on Thursday, pales in comparison to previous estimates that scaled closer to $40 billion.
Vance’s comments came as President Donald Trump pushed forward a plan for American investors to buy the US operation from Chinese internet firm ByteDance Ltd.
Vance conceded that the purchasers will “ultimately” determine the amount paid. While expected buyers would likely welcome a low-ball valuation, ByteDance and its existing investors may find it amusing, if not insulting.
TikTok’s video-sharing platform ranks among the most popular US social media properties based on average daily app usage. Its influence has also been felt in the proliferation of competing short-video services like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
Valuing it has always been difficult, particularly given the complexity of the app’s coveted content algorithm. However, even by the most conservative estimates, the US operation, the firm’s most lucrative market with 170 million active users, generates revenue of over $10 billion a year.
At a $14 billion valuation, TikTok US would carry a price-to-sales ratio of roughly 1.4 times, in line with mature, low-growth companies like ExxonMobil and General Mills.
By way of comparison, Instagram operator Meta Platforms trades at around 10 times sales while YouTube parent Alphabet is at eight times.
The deal, which must be completed within 120 days, would spin out TikTok US into a new joint venture where ByteDance’s stake would be reduced to less than 20% to satisfy US national security concerns.
While Trump said his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping has given his blessing, Beijing has yet to say publicly whether it has approved.
