Telegram jumps to $540mn profit despite founder facing legal peril: FT
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Telegram posted a $540 million profit in 2024, reversing prior losses, as user growth and crypto revenue surged.
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The icon for the instant messaging Telegram app is seen on a smartphone, on February 28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. (AP)
Telegram posted a record $540 million profit in 2024, marking a sharp turnaround from a $173 million loss the previous year, according to internal investor documents seen by the Financial Times (FT). The growth was driven by a surge in paying users, crypto-linked partnerships, and new monetization strategies.
The Dubai-based messaging platform reported $1.4 billion in revenue, a fourfold increase from $343 million in 2023. This marked Telegram's first full year in profit, underscoring the impact of its premium features and expanding revenue streams.
The results were shared with prospective investors as Telegram launched a $1.5 billion bond offering aimed at buying back outstanding debt. The offering began on Tuesday and could close as early as next week.
According to FT, Telegram executives noted that a growing base of paying users and increased adoption of services linked to the company's cryptocurrency contributed to the financial surge.
$1.5B bond sale targets debt repurchase
Telegram, which is fully owned by founder Pavel Durov, has issued approximately $2.4 billion in bonds over the past four years. Between September and December 2024, it repurchased $375 million of its outstanding bonds and now seeks to retire more debt through the ongoing sale.
The investor materials show Telegram had around $530 million in cash as of February 2025, excluding the value of its cryptocurrency holdings, according to the FT report. The company is now targeting $2 billion in revenue and $720 million in profit in 2025, a 46% increase year-on-year.
Despite the financial success, the company continues to face uncertainty due to legal proceedings against founder Pavel Durov in France. Durov, who holds Russian, French, and Emirati citizenship, was detained in Paris in August 2024 and is facing charges related to Telegram’s alleged failure to prevent criminal content, including child abuse and terrorism, from circulating on the platform.
If convicted, Durov could face a prison sentence. The legal case has raised concerns among investors and regulators about the platform’s future leadership.
Looking ahead, Telegram is investing in artificial intelligence as a key area of growth. The company announced a new partnership with Elon Musk’s xAI, integrating the Grok chatbot into its platform.
According to FT, Telegram stated it will actively promote Grok within the app and share in the resulting revenue, though further details were not disclosed. The partnership marks Grok’s first major expansion beyond Musk’s X platform, positioning Telegram as a growing hub for conversational AI.
Durov and Musk are reportedly aligned in their views on free speech, with Musk amplifying a recent Telegram post by Durov regarding French intelligence requests, sharing it with his 220 million followers and reacting with a simple: “Wow.”
