• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns

2

Melinda French Gates' advice to new IPO millionaires: 'Give half your money away'

3

Trump expects to sign a deal with Iran on Sunday, but Tehran may want to avoid giving him a gift on his birthday

1

Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns

2

Melinda French Gates' advice to new IPO millionaires: 'Give half your money away'

3

Trump expects to sign a deal with Iran on Sunday, but Tehran may want to avoid giving him a gift on his birthday
Big TechSocial Media

JD Vance values TikTok the same as Snapchat’s parent, and Wall Street loses its mind. ‘This is crazy’

Jason Ma
By
Jason Ma
Jason Ma
Weekend Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
Jason Ma
By
Jason Ma
Jason Ma
Weekend Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 26, 2025, 12:41 PM ET
Vice President JD Vance speaks to the press after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on TikTok in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday.
Vice President JD Vance speaks to the press after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on TikTok in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday.Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images

Wall Street was stunned by Vice President JD Vance’s estimate of TikTok’s valuation, as he put it well below what other top social media companies are worth.

Recommended Video

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday, clearing the way for a deal to put TikTok in U.S. hands following a divestiture by its Chinese parent, ByteDance. That avoids a total shutdown of the app in the U.S. that was required by law unless TikTok shed its China-based owner.

Speaking as the president signed the executive order in the Oval Office, Vance pegged TikTok’s worth at $14 billion—equal to that of Snapchat parent Snap. While he acknowledged that TikTok’s buyers will ultimately determine the app’s value, his number was still shocking to some.

“This is crazy. I mean, the number’s got to be wrong. It doesn’t make any sense,” Brent Thill, senior technology analyst at Jefferies, told CNBC on Thursday.

Ashwin Binwani, founder of Alpha Binwani Capital, told Bloomberg Vance’s $14 billion assessment is only one-third of TikTok’s actual value.

“By every major financial metric and peer comparison, this price tag looks dramatically misaligned with reality,” he said.

Earlier this year, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives put TikTok’s worth at “well north of $100 billion” with the algorithm, and up to $200 billion in a “best-case scenario.” Without the algorithm, he put it at $40 billion to $50 billion.

Vance said the algorithm will be “under the control of American investors,” adding that more details would be forthcoming. Reports earlier this week said Oracle will re-create TikTok’s algorithm and provide a new U.S. version while also ensuring security for users’ data.

Thill pointed out that social media giant Meta is worth nearly $2 trillion. Instagram alone has 3 billion global monthly active users, and Snapchat has more than 900 million. Meanwhile, TikTok has about 1.2 billion to 1.8 billion users around the world, with 170 million in the U.S. alone.

“So the only way you could read into that is, are they getting themselves a good deal, and they’re going to mark it up, and it’s going to be a huge windfall? But it makes zero sense from what I can see,” Thill said.

The U.S. ownership structure is still being finalized, but Trump said Oracle and its cofounder Larry Ellison would play a “big” role in managing the app, while conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch and computer billionaire Michael Dell would sit on the board. Trump hinted that three more “blue-chip” backers are also part of the ownership group.

While Trump joked about TikTok’s algorithm favoring MAGA-related content, he said, “Everyone’s going to be treated fairly.” Vance also stressed that business would drive the app’s content decisions.

“We want the business to make decisions about content based on the interest of the business and based on the interest of the users, and that’s what we think will happen,” he said.

Thill said TikTok should be able to draw more advertisers to the app now that a deal has been struck to keep it operating in the U.S. and the “drama is over.”

Meta’s Instagram still dominates as far as monetizing its platform, but Thill said there’s room for TikTok, though it’s unclear whether it will take market share from TV or other social media apps.

“There’s three platforms really that most are using: Meta, TikTok, and Snap,” he added. “And I think ultimately we’ve seen this. I think there is room for TikTok and monetization. Snap just hasn’t been able to do it, and it’s been a broken record for a while.”

Subscribe to Fortune Gulf Brief. Every Tuesday, this new newsletter delivers clear-eyed, authoritative intelligence on the deals, decisions, policies, and power shifts shaping one of the world’s most consequential regions, written for the people who need to act on it. Sign up here.
About the Author
Jason Ma
By Jason MaWeekend Editor

Jason Ma is the weekend editor at Fortune, where he covers markets, the economy, finance, and housing.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Big Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Big Tech

Bryan Catanzaro sits in a gray chair in front of a blue and green background.
AINvidia
‘The cost of compute is far beyond the costs of the employee’: Nvidia executive says right now AI is more expensive than paying human workers
By Sasha RogelbergJune 14, 2026
4 hours ago
A 1% mistake costs $10 billion: Inside the impossible math of managing Elon Musk’s trillionaire SpaceX wealth
Personal FinanceElon Musk
A 1% mistake costs $10 billion: Inside the impossible math of managing Elon Musk’s trillionaire SpaceX wealth
By Sydney LakeJune 14, 2026
7 hours ago
nexstar
CommentaryAntitrust
Nexstar CEO: big tech swallowed local newspapers. Local TV could be next
By Perry A. SookJune 14, 2026
9 hours ago
More and more of Musk’s companies end up under the same roof. Here’s a look at his sprawling empire
C-SuiteElon Musk
More and more of Musk’s companies end up under the same roof. Here’s a look at his sprawling empire
By The Associated PressJune 13, 2026
1 day ago
How Elon Musk rewrote SpaceX’s story—and turned it into the greatest IPO debut in history
InnovationFinance
How Elon Musk rewrote SpaceX’s story—and turned it into the greatest IPO debut in history
By Shawn TullyJune 13, 2026
1 day ago
Elon Musk
InvestingMarkets
When SpaceX starts trading, some ‘shareholders’ will discover they own nothing at all
By Jim EdwardsJune 12, 2026
2 days ago

Most Popular

Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns
Real Estate
Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns
By Sydney LakeJune 13, 2026
1 day ago
Melinda French Gates' advice to new IPO millionaires: 'Give half your money away'
Startups & Venture
Melinda French Gates' advice to new IPO millionaires: 'Give half your money away'
By Emma HinchliffeJune 13, 2026
1 day ago
Trump expects to sign a deal with Iran on Sunday, but Tehran may want to avoid giving him a gift on his birthday
Middle East
Trump expects to sign a deal with Iran on Sunday, but Tehran may want to avoid giving him a gift on his birthday
By Jason MaJune 13, 2026
22 hours ago
'It's not a jailbreak' — Research leading to U.S. export restrictions on top Anthropic models was for defense, cybersecurity CEO says
AI
'It's not a jailbreak' — Research leading to U.S. export restrictions on top Anthropic models was for defense, cybersecurity CEO says
By Jason MaJune 13, 2026
1 day ago
CEO of $20 billion AI firm Perplexity says the secret to success is ‘sleeping with that fear’ that your competitor will steal your idea
Success
CEO of $20 billion AI firm Perplexity says the secret to success is ‘sleeping with that fear’ that your competitor will steal your idea
By Preston ForeJune 13, 2026
1 day ago
SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen quietly engineered its historic IPO and became an overnight billionaire
C-Suite
SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen quietly engineered its historic IPO and became an overnight billionaire
By Sasha RogelbergJune 13, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.