Core Insights - The Trump administration's estimated valuation of TikTok's US business is $14 billion, significantly lower than previous estimates of around $40 billion, surprising investors who view this as a bargain for potential buyers like Oracle Corp. and Silver Lake Management LLC [1][2] Valuation Context - Vice President JD Vance's comments highlight the disparity between the current valuation and earlier projections, indicating that the final purchase price will ultimately be determined by the buyers [2][3] - Ashwin Binwani, founder of Alpha Binwani Capital, suggests that the proposed valuation could be the most undervalued tech acquisition of the decade, estimating it reflects only a third of TikTok's true value based on financial metrics and peer comparisons [4] Revenue Generation - TikTok's US operation, which has 170 million active users, generates revenue exceeding $10 billion annually, making it the firm's most lucrative market [5] Price-to-Sales Ratio - At a $14 billion valuation, TikTok US would have a price-to-sales ratio of approximately 1.4 times, comparable to mature, low-growth companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. and General Mills Inc. In contrast, competitors like Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc. trade at significantly higher multiples of around 10 and 8 times sales, respectively [6] Market Reaction - The suggested valuation has been described as "daylight robbery" by Vey-Sern Ling, a senior equity adviser for Asia technology, indicating strong market sentiment against the proposed price [7] Deal Structure - The deal must be completed within 120 days and will involve spinning out TikTok US into a new joint venture, reducing ByteDance's stake to less than 20% to address US national security concerns [7]
TikTok’s $14 billion valuation in Trump deal stuns investors
Yahoo Finance·2025-09-26 12:29