BREAKING: Trump Grants TikTok Yet Another Lifeline—Wall Street Yawns

TikTok dodges another bullet as the former president extends its US operations—again. Because nothing says 'national security threat' like dancing teens and algorithmic cat videos.

Key Points:

- The extension keeps TikTok's lights on in the US market despite ongoing data privacy concerns

- No structural changes required (yet)—business as usual for the Chinese-owned platform

- Wall Street barely blinks—because when did tech regulation ever impact quarterly earnings?

This marks the fourth reprieve since 2020, proving that in Washington, even 'final deadlines' come with installment plans. Meanwhile, ByteDance continues printing money while US lawmakers argue about committee jurisdictions.

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ByteDance isn’t enthused about the idea of selling TikTok and has been holding off on a deal. That’s despite several U.S.-based tech companies having expressed interest in the short-form video app. This interest is warranted as vertical short-form videos have taken off in popularity. That’s prompted the creation of TikTok rivals, such as Meta Platforms’ (META) Reels and Alphabet’s (GOOGL) YouTube Shorts.

This marks the third extension that TikTok has received since a court ruled a ban WOULD go into effect if it wasn’t divested to a U.S. company. President Trump has heavily favored the app due to the support he garnered on it during the 2024 presidential election.

Who Will Buy TikTok?

There’s no shortage of suitors looking to purchase TikTok. That makes sense considering the massive size of the video platform, with roughly 1.8 billion monthly active users.

Parties interested in TikTok include:

• Amazon (AMZN)
• Oracle (ORCL)
• OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely
• Project Liberty
• YouTuber MrBeast
• AppLovin (APP)
• Perplexity AI
• Walmart (WMT)
• Rumble (RUM)

Will TikTok Be Banned?

With this being the third extension that TikTok has received, the company really needs to find a buyer if it wants to continue operating in the U.S. Failure to do so could result in a ban of the app, as that would be required by the Supreme Court’s ruling.

While President Trump may not want that to happen, he can only give TikTok so much leeway before the ban goes into effect. The President could also plan to use the app as a bargaining chip with China in the ongoing trade war. However, this might require additional input from the other branches of the government.

Investors can get more insight into the trade war from TipRank’s Economic Indicators Dashboard.