Meta and Amazon Defy Forecasts with Strong Ad Revenue Growth
Industry analysts had braced themselves for a difficult second quarter of 2025, anticipating that the introduction of new US tariffs would weigh heavily on advertising revenues. Reflecting these concerns, WARC Media revised its forecast for global ad spend growth, cutting it by half a percentage point to 6.2%—down from a 1.4 percentage point reduction announced in March. The outlook suggested a cooling environment for digital ad growth worldwide.
Despite these headwinds, Amazon and Meta significantly outperformed expectations, reporting robust year-on-year ad revenue growth that defied industry projections of a slowdown. Amazon’s marketing division posted an impressive 22% revenue increase, its fastest pace of growth since Q1 2024. The company credited this momentum to strong investment in its demand-side platform (DSP) and connected TV products, enabling it to capture “full funnel” ad spend across awareness, consideration, and conversion stages.
Meta also reported better-than-expected results, with total revenue rising 21% compared to the same quarter in 2024. Its advertising performance was driven by an 11% increase in ad impressions across its platforms and a 9% rise in the average price per ad. Together, these results underscore Meta’s ability to sustain engagement and monetisation at scale despite broader macroeconomic pressures.
What This Means for Us:
For advertisers in Ireland, the key watch-outs are twofold. First, Amazon’s performance highlights how retail media is becoming one of the fastest-growing areas of digital advertising, with the company outpacing the overall retail media industry. Second, while Meta has often lagged behind the broader social advertising market over the past decade, its current rebound suggests a period of renewed competitiveness. Nevertheless, such growth is unlikely to be sustainable given the wider economic pressures. Irish businesses should therefore watch US advertising trends closely, as they may foreshadow volatility and shifting opportunities in European markets.
Sources
WARC
Silicon Republic
