Telegram raked in $540 million in profit last year, achieving rapid growth despite the drama around the messaging platform’s founder, Pavel Durov.
According to the Dubai-based group, revenues reached $1.4 billion in 2024, up from $343 million a year earlier. The company also recovered from a $173 million loss in 2023.
A potential IPO is possible, but the case against Durov is a barrier
Sources familiar with the matter said the bumper earnings were shared with potential investors ahead of Telegram launching a bond offering of about $1.5 billion to buy back existing debt.
The debt sale began on Tuesday and could wrap up as early as next week. The results suggest Telegram has been boosted partially by a surge in paying users and gains from tie-ups linked to the cryptocurrency it founded.
The growth occurred despite the drama surrounding Pavel Durov, its founder. However, many now wonder how sustainable it is because a future where the founder remains embattled by legal authorities is not a bright one.
The Russian-born founder, who also has French and United Arab Emirates citizenship, has been swept up with charges blaming the app’s alleged failure to address criminality, including child abuse and terrorism. If found guilty, he could get a prison sentence.
Durov has grown bolder and outspoken about the case in recent days. On Monday, he claimed the main focus of the French intelligence services was always geopolitics, and child abuse/terrorism was just a pretext.
He had previously claimed he refused a request by Nicolas Lerner, head of French intelligence, to ban conservative voices in Romania ahead of elections in the country. The French intelligence service has denied Durov’s claims.
Despite all these, Telegram’s chief investment officer John Hyman has said a potential initial public offering was possible if things became less turbulent.
The company has also acknowledged that the French’s interest in Durov could be a barrier to an IPO. Yet, it expressed hope in the possibility of a resolution happening as early as this year.
The new bond offering, being sounded out at a 9% yield, would allow investors to buy shares in any future IPO at a 20% discount, mirroring the terms of previous bond sales, a source has said.
Telegram’s future plans
According to the investor documents, Telegram has its sights on recording revenues of $2 billion in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 46%. It is also aiming to achieve $720 million in profit next year.
It is on track to reach those targets as it has recorded about $530 million in cash as of February 2025, a figure that does not include its cryptocurrency assets.
Telegram has issued about $2.4 billion in bonds over the past four years, and between September and December 2024, it repurchased $375 million of its outstanding bonds, the documents claim.
It would also seem Durov has plans to foster a deeper relationship with freedom speech advocate Elon Musk.
Telegram currently has a partnership with Elon Musk’s AI group xAI and has integrated xAI’s Grok chatbot into Telegram “with plans to promote it within the platform and split the resulting revenue”, without disclosing further details.
The partnership marks the first major expansion by Grok into a new social media service beyond its X platform.
— Kekius Maximus (@elonmusk) May 18, 2025
It is also notable that Durov and Musk are united in their stances on free speech. On Sunday, the X owner shared Durov’s post about the French intelligence request on Romania to his 220 million followers with a caption of surprise.
It is clear Durov has plans to continue resisting the authorities, but has also made several attempts to alleviate concerns about the threats Telegram poses to users.
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This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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