What's going on?

ByteDance � the parent company of viral video app TikTok � isn�t just the world�s most valuable startup: a report on Wednesday showed it�s also wildly profitable.

What does this mean?

Everyone�s favorite venue for videos of dancing teddies and clothes-wearing dogs more than doubled its revenue to $17 billion in 2019, while also recording a profit of $3 billion. That�s roughly $2 profit for each of its 1.5 billion monthly users � and we�re talking good old-fashioned net income, not the creative metrics some startups have been known to use.

Those numbers put Beijing-based Bytedance in social�s big leagues, beating YouTube�s $15 billion revenue and closing in on Instagram�s $20 billion haul. And in even more promising signs, the figures are from before COVID lockdown � which has inspired a whole new cohort of teens, celebrities, and grandparents to film their own #wipedownchallenge vids.

Why should I care?

For markets: A Chinese star.
TikTok is the first Chinese-built app to break out among western users: WeChat and Weibo have hundreds of millions of domestic users, sure, but they�ve struggled elsewhere. ByteDance has enjoyed success in China for years with news service Toutiao and Douyin � essentially TikTok in Chinese � but it wasn�t until its 2017 purchase of Musical.ly that the company finally reached a global audience. Analysts now reckon Bytedance would be valued at up to $180 billion if it sold shares in an initial public offering. It�s probably not in any rush, mind you: the company�s reportedly sitting on $6 billion in cash.

The bigger picture: Locking down your dollars.
As people spend more time at home these days, a new economy � the kind that suits TikTok to a, er, T � is emerging. Comfort foods are doing well, with Papa John�s and Domino�s Pizza both reporting increased sales this week, while TV-streaming is booming. And demand for consumers� downtime is only going to get fiercer: AT&T is the latest to try its luck with the launch of HBO Max on Wednesday.