TikTok has slashed its worldwide revenue targets for 2022 by at least $2bn as the fast-growing platform struggles to meet ambitious goals, becoming the latest tech giant to be hit by a global slump in online spending.Targets were cut by 20 per cent in late September by TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew in a virtual “all-hands” meeting, according to four people familiar with the move. TikTok originally projected revenues between $12bn and $14.5bn this year, but actual revenue is now believed to be closer to $10bn, these people added.
During the meeting, staff were blamed for not driving enough sales in both advertising and ecommerce, the platform’s main sources of income, these people said. But several current and former employees told the Financial Times that TikTok had overspent in other areas, from salaries to social events.
In the same meeting, staff were told that the Hong Kong IPO of ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, was unlikely to take place this year. The company had previously shelved plans to list overseas, after Beijing launched a crackdown on Chinese tech giants last year.