Skip to content

CFDs are leveraged products. CFD trading may not be suitable for everyone and can result in losses that exceed your deposits, so please consider our Risk Disclosure Notice and ensure that you fully understand the risks involved. CFDs are leveraged products. CFD trading may not be suitable for everyone and can result in losses that exceed your deposits, so please consider our Risk Disclosure Notice and ensure that you fully understand the risks involved.

TikTok IPO: 3 things you must know before the company goes public

With investors eagerly awaiting a 2020 IPO, we take a look at some of TikTok’s most important metrics.

Tik Tok in focus Source: Bloomberg

The premise of the TikTok app is deceptively simple: users create and share short videos with one another, primarily for entertainment purposes.

And though TikTok – owned by the China-based ByteDance – has many Western counterparts, the app has still proven incredibly popular on a global scale, carving out a strong audience, particularly amongst younger generations.

This rising popularity has caused many to speculate when (TikTok) ByteDance would pursue an IPO, with the public currently awaiting a 2020 listing.

On this front and as IG’s Chief Market analyst, Chris Beauchamp recently pointed out:

‘ByteDance is, according to the media, the world’s most valuable start-up, with suggestions of a $75 billion price tag doing the rounds.’

Looking at some of the key statistics behind the company – with a focus on the TikTok app in particular – one sees why such a valuation may potentially be justified.

To discover how you could potentially benefit from the TikTok IPO click here now

Total downloads at a glance

The TikTok app – launched in just 2017 – has already gained significant popularity, hitting a staggering one billion downloads this February.

Maybe more impressively however and according to Oberlo: TikTok was the most downloaded app on the entire Apple app store in the first-quarter of 2019, leading even the likes of the ever-popular YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat.

Monthly active users in focus

Besides overall downloads, TikTok has already established a consistent user-base who regularly return to the app.

Quantifying this appeal and according to Datareportal, TikTok currently has a 500m active monthly users (MUAs) – all across the globe.

Comparing this against some of the other social media juggernauts and in terms of monthly active users we see that Facebook has 2.4bn MUAs, YouTube 1.9bn, WhatsApp 1.5bn, Twitter 330m and Snapchat 301m – according to dustinstout.com.

TikTok IPO: key fundamentals

Though these user-centric metrics are impressive, the company remains loss-making – though continues to anticipate strong top-line growth.

According IG’s Chief Market analyst, Chris Beauchamp:

‘ByteDance said that it was loss-making in the first half of 2019, although the firm said it made a profit in June and was confident of becoming profitable in the second half of the year.’

Speaking of valuations, Mr Beauchamp continued by noting that:

‘2018’s revenue figure was $7.2 billion, which would put the firm on a multiple of around 10 times revenue. The firm plans to double this revenue, but it is not clear how this is to be achieved.’

Watch this space.

Click here to discover more about the TikTok IPO before it goes live


The information on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG Bank S.A. accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer.

Act on share opportunities today

Go long or short on thousands of international stocks with CFDs.

  • Get full exposure for a comparatively small deposit
  • Trade on spreads from just 0.1%
  • Get greater order book visibility with direct market access

See opportunity on a stock?

Try a risk-free trade in your demo account, and see whether you’re on to something.

  • Log in to your demo
  • Take your position
  • See whether your hunch pays off

See opportunity on a stock?

Don’t miss your chance – upgrade to a live account to take advantage.

  • Trade a huge range of popular stocks
  • Analyse and deal seamlessly on fast, intuitive charts
  • See and react to breaking news in-platform

See opportunity on a stock?

Don’t miss your chance. Log in to take your position.

Live prices on most popular markets

  • Forex
  • Shares
  • Indices

Prices above are subject to our website terms and agreements. Prices are indicative only. All shares prices are delayed by at least 15 mins.

You might be interested in…

Find out what charges your trades could incur with our transparent fee structure.

Discover why so many clients choose us, and what makes us a world-leading provider of CFDs.

Stay on top of upcoming market-moving events with our customisable economic calendar.