Meta's Q3 ad revenue rises 26% to $63.1 billion, outpacing Google Search growth
In brief
- Meta's Q3 ad revenue rose 26% to $63.061 billion, from $50.082 billion a year earlier.
- Ad impressions rose 10%; average price per ad climbed 14%.
- Google's Search and other segment brought in $63.35 billion, up 12%.
- Meta's ad total now trails Google's search ads business by roughly $290 million.
- Alphabet's $127.6 billion total revenue remains nearly double Meta's.
Price and volume both moved
Meta posted total third-quarter revenue of $64.6 billion, a 26% jump from a year earlier. Ads made up almost all of it. Ad impressions rose 10% and the average price per ad climbed 14%, so it isn't just more slots being sold (Meta is getting paid more for each one, too).
The company credited its artificial intelligence investments for the gains, pointing to improvements in engagement, recommendations and monetization. Meta has used AI to sharpen ad targeting across Facebook and Instagram, and nearly 10 million advertisers used its generative AI creative tools during the quarter.
Google's side of the ledger
Alphabet reported total revenue of $127.6 billion, up 25% year over year. Search and other ads brought in $63.35 billion, up 12%. YouTube ads contributed $11.21 billion, a 9% gain. Google's overall advertising revenue reached $82.01 billion, which Crypto Briefing put at roughly 10.6% to 11% growth.
Alphabet said AI drove its highest Search query growth rate in five years. That's a real number for the company to point to, but it didn't settle every question: Crypto Briefing reported that Alphabet's core ad segment slowed compared with previous periods, that results fell short of some analyst expectations, and that the company faced investor concerns about AI-related spending and negative free cash flow.
A gap of about $290 million
Two ad businesses, each north of $63 billion a quarter, now separated by roughly $290 million.
Alphabet still runs the much larger company overall, with total revenue nearly double Meta's. The comparison here is narrower: Meta's entire ad business against Google's search ads line, and on that measure Meta grew more than twice as fast in the third quarter.
Crypto Briefing's read is that Meta's AI-driven ad growth is challenging Google's dominance. It also argued that chatbots (which give people a new way to find answers) put pressure on the traditional search box where Google makes much of its money. That's the outlet's analysis, not a settled verdict, and it doesn't change the fact that Google's search line still came in ahead this quarter.
Meta didn't need to beat Google outright to make the point. It just had to grow at twice the pace.
Frequently asked questions
How close is Meta's ad revenue to Google's search ads business?
Meta's third-quarter advertising revenue was $63.061 billion, while Google's Search and other ads revenue was $63.35 billion. According to Crypto Briefing, that leaves Meta's total ad haul within roughly $290 million of Google's search ads business.
What did Meta say drove its ad revenue growth?
Meta credited its artificial intelligence investments, pointing to improvements in engagement, recommendations and monetization. Ad impressions rose 10% and the average price per ad climbed 14%, and nearly 10 million advertisers used its generative AI creative tools during the quarter.
