Telegram turns profitable for first time after paying down $2 billion debt

By Yazhou Sun and Mark Bergen 

Social media app Telegram is profitable for the first time after paying down “a meaningful share” of some $2 billion in debt, Chief Executive Officer Pavel Durov said in a post on X Monday. 

The milestone comes as the messaging service faces increasing scrutiny for aiding the spread of misinformation and illegal content such as child sexual abuse materials. French prosecutors in August charged the Russian-born Durov in connection with alleged crimes committed on the app and he is not allowed to leave the country.

 

Telegram’s total revenue surpassed $1 billion in 2024, and it has more than $500 million in cash reserves, not including cryptoassets, Durov said. 

 

 

Telegram, with more than 900 million active users, has drawn the ire of governments ranging from the European Union to authoritarian regimes in Russia and Iran due to the illegal content it hosts and its unresponsiveness to takedown requests. 

 

In Moldova, authorities alleged it was used this year to organize a Russia-backed operation designed to undermine the country’s European aspirations. 

 

Misinformation spread on Telegram after deadly floods in Spain last month which claimed more than 150 lives. The false claims ranged from the death toll to debunked statements that the storm had been manufactured to destroy Spanish crops. 

 

White-supremacist groups escalated efforts in the run-up to the US election to recruit new members over Telegram, where they’ve amplified racist conspiracies while posing as men-only fight clubs, according to civil rights groups and researchers who study extremism.