Meta overtakes Google in ad revenue

Meta is projected to overtake Google in digital advertising revenue in 2026, according to a Digiexe statistics roundup published on May 22 that cites EMARKETER forecasts. The compilation says Meta will generate $243.46 billion in global digital ad revenue this year, compared with $239.54 billion for Google. The article presents the shift as the first time Meta has moved ahead of Google on that measure, while also noting that it is a compiled market-statistics post rather than an original investigative report. Meta’s own reported results show why the forecast has drawn attention. Meta said on April 29 that first-quarter 2026 revenue rose 33% to $56.31 billion, while ad impressions across its Family of Apps increased 19% year over year. For full-year 2025, Meta reported revenue of $200.97 billion, up 22%, with average price per ad rising 9% and ad impressions up 12%. (digiexe.com) ### Where does the claim that Meta passed Google come from? Digiexe attributes the ranking change to an EMARKETER forecast dated April 13, 2026. In the figures reproduced by Digiexe, Meta’s projected 2026 share of worldwide digital ad spend is 26.8%, compared with Google’s 26.4%. The same roundup says Google led in 2025, with $214.06 billion in ad revenue versus Meta’s $196.17 billion. (investor.atmeta.com) The sourcing matters because Digiexe is not presenting company filings or a regulator’s dataset. The page says it compiles more than 80 data points from EMARKETER, Dentsu, IAB, Statista, WARC and other research, and it frames the Meta-Google reversal as part of a broader 2026 market overview. ### What do Meta’s own numbers show about ad momentum? (digiexe.com) Meta said in its first-quarter 2026 release that revenue reached $56.31 billion for the three months ended March 31, up from $42.31 billion a year earlier. The company also said ad impressions rose 19% year over year in the quarter. Mark Zuckerberg said the company had “strong momentum across our apps” in the same release. (digiexe.com) For full-year 2025, Meta reported $200.97 billion in revenue and said fourth-quarter ad impressions rose 18%. The company also said average price per ad increased 6% in the fourth quarter and 9% for the full year. ### What is Google saying about AI and advertising? (investor.atmeta.com) Alphabet said on April 29 that its AI investments were “driving performance across our business,” according to CEO Sundar Pichai’s prepared remarks for the first-quarter earnings call. Pichai said “Search & Other” revenue grew 19% and said users were returning to Search more through products including AI Mode and AI Overviews. (investor.atmeta.com) Alphabet’s public materials available through its investor site show the company filed its 2025 annual report on Feb. 5, 2026, and held its first-quarter 2026 earnings call on April 29. In those remarks, Pichai also pointed to upcoming events including Google I/O, Brandcast and Google Marketing Live as the next venues where Alphabet planned to show product and advertising updates. (abc.xyz) ### Why does AI keep appearing in this ad-revenue story? Digiexe says AI-powered advertising is widening performance gaps across platforms, citing automated creative tools, programmatic buying and measurement changes as drivers of spending shifts. The roundup specifically points to Meta’s Advantage+ tools as part of the company’s acceleration. (abc.xyz) Meta and Alphabet are both making that case in their own investor materials. Meta tied first-quarter growth to stronger app momentum and rising ad delivery, while Alphabet said AI products and infrastructure were lifting performance across Search, Cloud and subscriptions. Neither company, in the materials reviewed, said the other had been displaced in reported company revenue; that ranking comes from the market forecast cited by Digiexe. (digiexe.com) ### What should readers watch next? May 2026 is the next visible checkpoint for Alphabet’s ad business because Pichai named Google Marketing Live alongside I/O and Brandcast in his April 29 earnings remarks. Meta’s next formal revenue update will come with its second-quarter 2026 results, after reporting $56.31 billion in first-quarter revenue on April 29. Digiexe’s projection, meanwhile, can be checked against future EMARKETER updates and the companies’ own filings as 2026 progresses. (investor.atmeta.com) (abc.xyz)