TikTok US is worth only $14 billion, according to the Trump-backed deal

Charting how that stacks up against the rest of the social media landscape suggests Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX got a pretty sweet deal.

Hyunsoo Rim

9/26/25 9:46AM

So, we finally have a TikTok US deal, as President Trump signed an executive order to push forward an agreement requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s US operations.

But rather than settling every question, the price tag is raising more of them, with some analysts calling it “the most undervalued tech acquisition of the decade” or a “daylight robbery.”

The deal would create a new US-based joint venture, majority-owned by American investors. Oracle, Silver Lake, and the Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX are slated to hold 45% of the company — split roughly 15% each — according to CNBC. Meanwhile, ByteDance’s stake will be capped at 19.9% to comply with national security rules, with the remaining 35% in the hands of new investors and existing ByteDance backers, including General Atlantic, Susquehanna, and Sequoia.

So, what is the world’s most addictive app, which counts more than 180 million active users in the US, worth? Some $14 billion, per Vice President JD Vance — far below earlier projections of $40 billion to $50 billion.

Though not an apples-to-apples comparison — as these other sites have global user bases — TikTok US would be by far the cheapest among its peers, whose latest valuations all easily top $14 billion.

The discount stands out even more when measured against sales: Snap trades at 2.5x, Pinterest at 5.9x, and Reddit at 25.3x their trailing 12-month revenues, while TikTok US is priced at roughly 1x its estimated annual US revenues of $10 billion to $20 billion.

Thursday’s order gives 120 days to close — the fifth deadline extension since the divest-or-ban law took effect — now putting it at January 2026. Trump said he had received Chinese President Xi Jinping’s personal approval, though Beijing has yet to publicly confirm.

Hyunsoo Rim

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JetBlue is raising its bag fees as fuel costs squeeze airlines

JetBlue will reportedly hike its bag fees, as the cost of jet fuel continues to climb amid the war in Iran. It’s the latest example of carriers finding ways to push rising costs onto travelers.

Last week, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that if fuel prices remain elevated, fares would need to rise another 20% for his airline to break even this year.

As CNBC reported, when one airline raises fees, others tend to follow.

Earlier this month, JetBlue hiked its first-quarter outlook for operating revenue per seat mile to between 5% and 7%, saying that strong Q1 demand helped “partially offset additional expenses realized from operational disruptions and rising fuel costs.” Now, the carrier appears to be making moves to further boost revenue to offset those costs.

Earlier on Monday, JetBlue rival Alaska Air lowered its Q1 profit forecast. The refining margins for the carrier’s cheapest fuel option — sourced from Singapore and representing about 20% of Alaska’s overall supply — have spiked 400% since February.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.