ByteDance Offers Higher Payouts to Ex-Employees as Valuation Climbs

TLDRs;

• ByteDance raised its employee share buyback price to $200.4 per share, valuing the firm near $330 billion.
• Former employees were offered $180.4 per share, up 12%, closing the payout gap with current staff.
• U.S. regulators have set a January 2026 deadline for ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. business.
• The proposed U.S. TikTok joint venture, worth ~$14 billion, represents just 4% of ByteDance’s global valuation.

ByteDance Ltd., the parent company of TikTok and Douyin, has launched a new round of employee share buybacks, signaling renewed investor confidence even as it faces intense regulatory scrutiny in the United States.

The Beijing-based company raised its buyback price for vested restricted stock units (RSUs) to US$200.4 per share, marking a 5.5% increase from April.

The offer, which began with U.S.-based employees last month before expanding globally, reflects a company valuation of around US$330 billion, according to internal estimates. This valuation cements ByteDance’s standing as one of the world’s most valuable private technology companies, second only to SpaceX in the global startup rankings.

Former employees have also been included in this buyback round, receiving US$180.4 per share, which is about 12% higher than the previous offer, narrowing the payout gap between current and former staff. Analysts say this move underscores ByteDance’s efforts to reward loyalty while maintaining goodwill among ex-employees who contributed to its rapid rise in global markets.

Valuation Signals Confidence Amid U.S. Pressure

The timing of the share buyback is particularly significant. ByteDance is simultaneously navigating a high-stakes standoff with Washington, where lawmakers have demanded that it divest TikTok’s U.S. operations by January 23, 2026, or face a nationwide ban.

The proposed divestment plan envisions a new U.S.-based TikTok joint venture (JV) in which American investors would hold up to 80% ownership, while ByteDance and its affiliates would retain less than 20%. The deal remains subject to approval from Chinese regulators, who have historically restricted the export of TikTok’s recommendation algorithms.

Technology analyst Guo Tao noted that the move, while driven by regulatory compliance, could still affect ByteDance’s valuation in the medium term.

TikTok JV Seen as Small Slice of ByteDance Value

Interestingly, the U.S. TikTok joint venture, estimated at around US$14 billion, accounts for just 4% of ByteDance’s overall implied value.

This small fraction highlights the company’s diversified strength beyond the U.S. market, with its Chinese counterpart, Douyin, boasting 766 million daily active users and robust advertising revenues.

TikTok itself reached over 1.6 billion users in 2024, with more than 700 million in the Asia-Pacific region outside of China and India. Analysts argue that even if ByteDance relinquishes control of TikTok’s U.S. operations, it could continue earning revenue through licensing, advertising partnerships, and data-driven optimization agreements within the JV framework.

Compliance Push Spurs New Tech Opportunities

The mandated separation between TikTok’s global and U.S. systems is also creating new opportunities across the cloud computing, data localization, and cybersecurity industries.

The TikTok U.S. JV will be required to operate entirely independently of ByteDance’s infrastructure, triggering demand for American vendors specializing in data governance, AI model oversight, and ad-tech stack localization.

The compliance overhaul is expected to accelerate contracts for companies focused on trust and safety systems, AI model governance, and regulatory-grade cloud services. As the January 2026 deadline approaches, enterprise software providers and compliance specialists are racing to position themselves as key partners in TikTok’s restructured U.S. operations.

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