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Advertising: Down, down, up, down… earnings reports are bumpy

This is the part where the “fasten seatbelt” sign turns on… at least if you’re working in Big Tech.

Alphabet’s seeing red

Google’s parent company reported revenue growth of just 1% last quarter, missing expectations in most areas.

Alphabet reported revenue growth of just 1% last quarter.

YouTube disappointed, and missed ad revenue expectations, earning $7.96B instead of the $8.25B expected, even though Shorts amassed 50B daily views.

Google attributes this to the “pullback” in spending by advertisers and the challenging economy.

Amazon Ads soar

Meanwhile, the e-commerce giant fared much better, making $11.56B with its advertising business, beating expectations, and growing 19%.

Even though Amazon holds less than 7.5% of the online ad market, it could potentially disrupt the Meta-Google duopoly if its growth keeps up.

Apple also fell

Reporting a 5% drop in revenue, the largest decline since 2016.

But while Apple hasn’t reported advertising revenue, it’s expected to show positive results, especially given how its privacy regulations work in Apple’s favor.

Why we care

Last week Meta reported disappointing results, so it’s not surprising that other platforms are struggling, too.

On the other hand, “smaller” challengers such as Amazon, TikTok, and others could have an opportunity to grab a bigger piece of the advertising pie.

Either way, now may be a good time to bump up your ad spend while costs are low. You might just eat up some market share of your own…