TikTok’s highest-paid stars (Jul-19 through Jun-20) according to Forbes:
1) Addison Rae – $5.0M
2) Charli D’Amelio – $4.0M
3) Dixie D’Amelio – $2.9M
4) Loren Gray – $2.6M
5) Josh Richards – $1.6M
6A) Michael Le – $1.2M
6B) Spencer X – $1.2M
Big question #1: How much is TikTok worth?
Quick answer: TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is worth ≈ $100B, leading some to believe TikTok is worth ≈ $20B – $50B by itself.
TikTok’s annual revenue (YoY growth) according to The Information:
1) 2019P – $250M
2) 2020P – $1.2B (↑ 380%)
3) 2021P – $3.0B (↑ 150%)
Mr. Screen’s Crystal Ball: TikTok recently launched a self-serve ad platform (think Facebook in 2007), which should accelerate ad revenue growth.
TikTok’s headcount (YoY growth) according to LinkedIn:
1) Aug-18 – 480
2) Aug-19 – 1,475 (↑ 207%)
3) Aug-20 – 5,143 (↑ 249%)
Big question #2: How did TikTok grow so fast?
Quick answer: TikTok spent ≈ $3M per day through 2018-19!
Flashback: TikTok Boom! How the Exploding Social Media App Is Going Hollywood
TikTok global app downloads by quarter according to SensorTower:
1) 2017-Q1 – 22.4M
2) 2017-Q2 – 26.6M
3) 2017-Q3 – 33.6M
4) 2017-Q4 – 46.8M
5) 2018-Q1 – 110.3M
6) 2018-Q2 – 156.0M
7) 2018-Q3 – 183.8M
8) 2018-Q4 – 205.7M
9) 2019-Q1 – 187.3M
10) 2019-Q2 – 155.9M
11) 2019-Q3 – 175.9M
12) 2019-Q4 – 199.4M
13) 2020-Q1 – 315.0M
TikTok users in the U.S. (YoY growth) according to eMarketer:
1) 2018 – 18.8M
2) 2019 – 37.2M (↑ 97%)
3) 2020P – 45.4M (↑ 22%)
4) 2021P – 52.3M (↑ 15%)
5) 2022P – 55.8M (↑ 7%)
6) 2023P – 58.4M (↑ 5%)
7) 2024P – 60.3M (↑ 3%)
Wow: TikTok reached 1B users faster than any other app.
Video #1: Now What for TikTok: A conversation with Bryan Thoensen
Video #2: The Trouble With TikTok on U.S. Phones
More #1: The TikTok War
More #2: New TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer Explains Why He Left Disney
