ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the video sharing app TikTok, could potentially retain a significant share of profits, estimated at about 50 percent or even more, from the platform's United States operations even after selling a majority stake to American investors. This new deal, reportedly spearheaded by US President Donald Trump, involves ByteDance maintaining a licensing fee on all revenue generated from making its proprietary algorithm available to the US entity, coupled with a share of the profit proportional to its equity stake.

Sources cited in a Bloomberg report indicate that the profit-sharing arrangement would necessitate TikTok US paying ByteDance a “hefty” licensing fee for the use of its algorithm, which is considered a critical asset making the platform highly engaging. Under the current proposal, ByteDance might secure 20 percent of incremental revenue for these rights; for example, on $20 billion in revenue, this could amount to as much as $4 billion. Furthermore, ByteDance is expected to take roughly 20 percent of the profit from the remaining revenue, consistent with its retained equity stake. The American consortium set to own 80 percent of the TikTok US unit—including Oracle Corporation, Silver Lake Management, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX, alongside existing investors—would share the remaining profits.

The valuation of the proposed deal has generated considerable discussion and skepticism. US Vice President JD Vance stated on September 25 that the US-TikTok deal would be valued at approximately $14 billion, a figure significantly below the $35-40 billion that most analysts had anticipated. Experts suggest this substantial gap between the assessed value of TikTok's US business and the price tag floated by the Trump administration could be a major factor in the deal's prolonged negotiation. Ashwin Binwani, founder of Alpha Binwani Capital, characterized the $14 billion proposal as potentially “the most undervalued tech acquisition of the decade,” estimating it reflects only a third of TikTok’s true worth when assessed against major financial metrics and peer comparisons.

Despite President Donald Trump's assertion that an agreement for the sale had been reached following a phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese authorities have not confirmed the finalization of the deal, leaving its ultimate status uncertain. Queries directed to ByteDance, TikTok, and the White House regarding the matter reportedly went unanswered.