By Lincoln Olson
Lincoln Olson
Head of Content
Reviewed by Nate Tsang
Nate Tsang
WallStreetZen Founder
Nate is a serial entrepreneur, part-time investor, and founder of WallStreetZen. He holds a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from UAlberta Law - but don’t hold that against him. He’s passionate about building great software that delights users. He occasionally writes about himself in the 3rd person.
TikTok is owned by ByteDance.
ByteDance is not publicly traded, but you can invest in it on Equitybee.
Equitybee gives accredited investors access to hundreds of private, VC-backed startups before they IPO.
Sign up with Equitybee and invest in ByteDance today.
TikTok boasts more than 1 billion monthly active users.
For reference, there are only 3 social platforms with more monthly active users: Facebook (2.9 billion, NASDAQ: NASDAQ: META), YouTube (2.2 billion, NASDAQ: GOOGL), and Instagram (1.4 billion, NASDAQ: META).
Would you have liked to invest in Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram when they first became popular?
Yeah, me too.
But there’s a bit of a catch when it comes to buying TikTok stock — it’s not a public company.
Although Tiktok is owned privately by ByteDance, that doesn’t mean you can’t get exposure to it. Here’s how to buy TikTok stock whether you’re an accredited investor or a retail investor.
How to Buy TikTok Stock as an Accredited Investor
Equitybee gives accredited investors access to hundreds of high-growth, VC-backed startups. You can become an investor in private companies like ByteDance, Reddit, and Stripe.
By funding employee stock options, investors like you can own stakes in private companies at past valuations. In exchange for funding the options, you will receive a percentage of future proceeds from successful liquidity events.
Click on the image below to view the current offerings for ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) on EquityBee.
Start investing in ByteDance and hundreds of other private companies on Equitybee.
Subject to availability.
If you’re not an accredited investor, keep reading to learn how you can gain exposure to TikTok’s upside…
Can You Buy TikTok Stock as a Retail Investor? Is TikTok Publicly Traded?
TikTok is not listed on a stock exchange and you cannot buy its shares – at least not directly.
There is no:
- TikTok stock symbol or Tik Tok stock ticker
- Tik Tok stock name
- Tik Tok share price
While you can’t directly buy TikTok stock, you can invest in it indirectly.
Google technically isn’t a public company either, but you can buy the company by owning shares of Alphabet. Facebook and Instagram aren’t public companies either, but you can invest in their parent company.
You can do the same with TikTok. Let’s follow the rabbit trail.
The best way to own a piece of TikTok is by buying KKR or Softbank Stock – two global investing firms that own stock in Bytedance, TikTok’s parent company.
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eToro securities trading is offered by eToro USA Securities, Inc. (“the BD”), member of FINRA and SIPC. Cryptocurrency is offered by eToro USA LLC (“the MSB”) (NMLS: 1769299) and is not FDIC or SIPC insured. Investing involves risk, and content is provided for educational purposes only, does not imply a recommendation, and is not a guarantee of future performance. https://www.wallstreetzen.com is not an affiliate and may be compensated if you access certain products or services offered by the MSB and/or the BD.
Who Owns TikTok?
TikTok is a privately-held company, owned by ByteDance. ByteDance is a Chinese technology company founded in 2012.
You can think of the relationship between TikTok and ByteDance similar to Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is the parent company of Google, which owns YouTube.
Similarly, ByteDance is the parent company of TikTok.
Is ByteDance Publicly Traded?
Despite being valued at $250 billion, ByteDance is also not publicly traded.
Despite ByteDance not being publicly traded, accredited investors can invest in it on Equitybee.
Equitybee gives accredited investors access to hundreds of high-growth, VC-backed startups. By funding employee stock options, investors like you can own stakes in private companies at past valuations. In exchange for funding the options, you will receive a percentage of future proceeds from successful liquidity events.
Start investing in private companies, including ByteDance, on Equitybee.
Subject to availability.
That said, ByteDance is backed by multiple firms: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, SoftBank Group, Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic, and Hillhouse Capital Group. Investing in these companies is an indirect way to invest in TikTok.
How to Invest in Tik Tok Stock
You cannot directly buy shares of Tik Tok stock as a retail investor. However, you can invest in TikTok indirectly by buying shares in the private equity companies which own it.
You can invest in several of these firms:
- Kohlberg Kravis Roberts – NYSE: KKR
- Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is a global investment firm headquartered in New York
- SoftBank Group – OTCMKTS: SFTBY
- SoftBank is one of the most active investors in technology companies and has held stock in Slack, NVIDIA, Uber, and many others.
Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic, and Hillhouse Capital Group are all privately held companies. You cannot invest in them.
If you want to own Tik Tok stock, buy shares of KKR or SFTBY.
Both of these private equity firms have an entire portfolio of investments, of which TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is just one. Perform your own due diligence and make sure you want to own the complete portfolio of companies before choosing to invest.
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eToro is one of the world’s most popular investing platforms with over 28.5 million users.
As of September 20, 2023, eToro is offering a $10 bonus* for U.S. residents who open and fund a new account. Open your eToro account here.
$10 bonus for a deposit of $100 or more. Only available to U.S. residents. Additional terms and conditions apply.
How to Buy the TikTok IPO
It’s unknown whether TikTok (or its parent company ByteDance) will become a public company via an IPO.
If you don’t want to wait for its IPO, register for Equitybee and invest in ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) today.
Subject to availability.
But if it does, you should be ready. Here are the steps you will need to take to buy shares of TikTok when it becomes available:
- Create or login to your brokerage account (if you don’t have one, we recommend eToro – it’s free)
- Search for ByteDance or TikTok
- Select how many shares you want to buy
- Place your order
- Monitor your trade
Remember, you cannot yet buy TikTok stock. Investors cannot buy shares of TikTok stock until its IPO.
Other Social Media Stocks
Sure, you might not be able to invest in TikTok shares (yet), but here are a few ways to invest in the social media industry:
- Meta Platforms (Facebook, Instagram) – NASDAQ: META
- Google (YouTube) – NASDAQ: GOOGL
- Snapchat – NYSE: SNAP
- Twitter – NYSE: TWTR
You may also be interested in learning how to buy SpaceX stock and/or how to buy pre IPO stock.
FAQs:
Does TikTok have stock?
TikTok is not publicly-traded, so you cannot buy its stock.
However, TikTok (or its owner, ByteDance) may IPO in the near future.
Is TikTok going public?
TikTok has not yet announced plans for an IPO, though many people expect it to go public in the next few years.
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