In this article, we will discuss the 15 most valuable social media companies in the world. You can skip our detailed analysis of these companies, and go directly to 5 Most Valuable Social Media Companies in the World.
We prepared this article back in July this year. We listed the most valuable social media companies based on their market caps. The subsequent bloodbath in the stock market wiped billions of dollars off these companies’ worth. It’d be interesting for readers to see the market caps of these companies as of today and compare them to the market caps mentioned in the article. You will notice that over a period of about four months, a majority of these companies have lost billions in value and, as we write these sentences, have started to lay off hundreds of their employees to cut costs.
Social media has penetrated the life of most people in the world. According to an estimate, over 3.6 billion people use social media, as of 2020. By 2025, this number is expected to reach 4.41 billion people. According to a report, social media market size as of the end of 2020 stood at a whopping $94.83 billion. This number is expected to reach $308.96 billion in 2025.
Asia Pacific accounts for about 46% of the total market size of social media, while North America comes second with 32%. According to Statista, number of smartphone subscriptions are expected to cross 6.5 billion by the end of 2022. An average person spends 145 minutes on social media daily. All of these factors show the growth potential of social media companies.
Note: Market caps of the below mentioned companies are as of July 2022.
Photo by Olivier Bergeron on Unsplash
Most Valuable Social Media Companies in the World
15. Xiaohongshu (Private)
Estimated Valuation: $3 billion
Based in Shanghai, China, and founded in 2013, Xiaohongshu is also known as RED or Little Red Book. It is a social e-commerce platform where users upload and recommend their favorite fashion and beauty products. The company did its last funding round in 2018, where it raised $300 million and was in talks to do another round to raise $400 to $500 million, which will raise its valuation to around $6 billion. The company had reportedly planned an initial public offering in the U.S., which was later postponed as the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) announced increased scrutiny of technology platforms.
14. Discord (Private)
Estimated Valuation: $15B (Source: Bloomberg)
Originally a platform for gamers to communicate, Discord branched out and is now a social media platform where users communicate via texts, video and voice calls, and file sharing. It was launched in 2015 and reported to have 140 million monthly active users in December 2020.
13. Reddit
Estimated Valuation: $10 billion
San Francisco, California-based Reddit was started in 2005 by Steve Huffman, Aaron Swartz, and Alexis Ohanian. Often called the front page of the internet, Reddit is a social media that allows users to access, share, rate, and discuss different types of web content. As it is a private company, Reddit does funding rounds in order to raise capital. In February 2021, the company raised $410 million in its second funding round, and in August 2021, it announced that it was going for another funding round by Fidelity Management of $700 million.
12. WeChat, owned by Tencent Holdings Limited (OTC:TCEHY)
Developed by Tencent Holdings Limited, WeChat was launched as Weixin in 2011. The rebranding came the very next year for the international market as the number of active users of the app increased to 100 million.
Initially, it was a simple messenger app, but in 2017, it introduced mini-programs that transformed it into a messenger, social media, and mobile payment application.
11. Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB)
One of the top social media platforms, Instagram, was founded in 2010 was acquired by Facebook, Inc. in 2012 for $1 billion. According to a report by CNBC, Instagram crossed 2 billion monthly active users last year.
10. Weibo Corporation (NASDAQ:WB)
Market Cap: $5B
Sina Weibo, more commonly known as just Weibo, is operated by Weibo Corporation and started in 2009. It is a social media platform for microblogging that is mainly popular in Asian countries with over 500 million monthly active users. Weibo generates its revenue primarily from advertising and marketing.
9. Bilibili Inc. (NASDAQ:BILI)
Market Cap: $9.4B
Bilibili, based in Shanghai, was started by Xu Yi in 2010. One of the fastest-growing social media in China, it is a video sharing and commenting website gaining popularity in the rest of the world.
Bilibili (NASDAQ:BILI)’s revenue in the first quarter jumped 30% to reach $797.3 million, beating estimates by $38.85 million. Average daily active users (DAUs) also saw a year-over-year increase of 32% to 79.4 million.
8. Pinterest, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINS)
Market Cap: $12B
Based in San Francisco, California, Pinterest, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINS) was launched in 2009 by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra, and Evan Sharp. It is an engine through which users share and discover ideas of all sorts via pictures, short videos, and GIFs.
Pinterest, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINS) is also under pressure as investors are worried about a possible slump in digital ads. Pinterest stock jumped recently after co-founder and CEO Ben Silbermann was replaced by Google’s Bill Ready.
Some analysts believe that Pinterest, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINS) could gain on the back of strong ecommerce potential. However, Gradient Investments portfolio manager Mariann Montagne recently said that observing worsening user trends at Pinterest, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINS) makes her want to wait and see. The analyst has a Sell rating on the stock.
7. Twitter, Inc. (NYSE:TWTR)
Market Cap: $25B
San Francisco, California-based Twitter is one of the leading social media platforms and was founded in 2006. It was started by Jack Dorsey, Christopher Isaac Stone, Noah E. Glass, Jeremy LaTrasse, and Evan Williams.
Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) is in the headlines after Elon Musk terminated his plans to buy the company. Rosenblatt’s Barton Crockett said in a latest report that Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) shares could fall to $11 per share if the deal doesn’t materialize.
6. Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP)
Market Cap: $23B
Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP), headquartered in Santa Monica, California, was started in 2011 by Frank Reginald Brown IV, Evan Thomas Spiegel, and Robert C. Murphy. It is the parent company of the famous social media platform Snapchat. Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP)’s revenue comes from advertising, owing 88% of it to the U.S., and the annual revenue of 2020 amounted to $2.5 billion. During the pandemic, Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) reached its best quarter in many years.
Last month, it was reported by The Verge that Snap (NYSE:SNAP) plans to begin Snapchat Plus subscription product in the coming days. The service will be priced at $3.99 a month. People who spend most of their time communicating with friends on Snapchat will be the target audience for this service.
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Disclosure: None. 15 Most Valuable Social Media Companies in the World is originally published on Insider Monkey.