Where does this fail? Linking the decision of a TikTok gala to Alphabet's financial results is a single point of failure in the analysis, ignoring the actual regulatory pressure on TikTok.
The mechanism is fragile: the advertising success of a competitor does not imply that TikTok needs to organize a major event, which is primarily a legitimization strategy of its own.
The weakness of this assertion is that it overlooks the threats of ban or divestment that TikTok faces in the United States, which are much more decisive in determining the relevance of such an effort.
If a U.S. ban were to materialize, no Alphabet revenue figure would make this gala relevant for the company.
For example, the blast radius of a potential TikTok ban in the United States would render any attempt to bolster its brand through a gala completely futile, far beyond YouTube's performance.