Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, has denied a report from ABC News that suggested the company was considering joining a consortium of investors to acquire the short-form video platform TikTok. The report claimed that Walmart’s interest had been reignited following Amazon’s alleged involvement in potential negotiations to purchase TikTok from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. However, Walmart swiftly refuted these claims, stating the report was inaccurate.
Walmart’s name surfacing in connection to TikTok is not entirely new. The company had previously shown interest in the platform back in 2020 when it teamed up with Microsoft in an attempt to acquire TikTok’s US operations amid growing regulatory scrutiny over the app’s Chinese ownership. However, that deal never materialized. With TikTok boasting hundreds of millions of active users globally, it is hardly surprising that companies like Walmart view the platform as a lucrative channel for customer engagement and advertising opportunities, especially since the app has made a name for itself in the global social media landscape.
While Walmart has denied the latest report linking it to TikTok, the company has a well-established track record of investing in global startups and digital platforms. Most notably, Walmart owns a majority stake in Flipkart, the Indian e-commerce giant it acquired in 2018 for $16 billion, and other investments in online platforms have helped Walmart make a name for itself as a serious player in global e-commerce markets, particularly in fast-growing economies like India.
Still, the latest round of acquisition rumors comes at a time when TikTok is facing significant regulatory pressure in the United States. In January 2025, the US Supreme Court upheld a government-mandated ban on TikTok over national security concerns related to its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. This ban, however, has yet to take full effect due to a series of extensions provided by President Donald Trump. For now, ByteDance itself does not seem to have any plans to sell the platform.
Most recently, Trump signed an executive order granting TikTok another 75-day reprieve — now pushing the deadline for a potential sale or shutdown to June 18. The president cited “tremendous progress” in negotiations for a possible sale but indicated that more time was needed for a deal to come together. The US government has maintained that ByteDance must divest TikTok’s US operations to a non-Chinese buyer to continue operating in the country.
In addition to Amazon — whose reported interest allegedly prompted Walmart’s rumored involvement — several other major players have emerged as potential suitors for TikTok. These include Oracle, a frequent contender in the TikTok acquisition saga, and ad-tech company AppLovin, which recently confirmed submitting a preliminary bid in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other names that have been floated include Microsoft, which was previously involved in acquisition talks, as well as other entrants like OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely and AI startup Perplexity. The latter has reportedly discussed a potential deal structure that would grant the US government a 50% ownership stake in TikTok. Further complicating matters, Activision Blizzard founder Bobby Kotick has also been rumored to be assembling a group of investors for a potential bid. Even YouTuber MrBeast has publicly claimed involvement in an all-cash offer to acquire TikTok’s US operations.
