Forecasters See Tough Times Ahead for X’s Ad Business
With advertising industry veteran Linda Yaccarino no longer CEO of X, the social platform’s strategy to attract more ad dollars is unclear. Ad forecasters see continued turbulence ahead.
Marketing intelligence firm WARC, for instance, forecasts X’s U.S. ad revenue will decrease 5% to $522.5 million this year, then drop again in 2026.
Alex Brownsell, head of content within WARC’s media division, explained that while Yaccarino managed to slow X’s rapid decline, she didn’t do enough to change its trajectory.
“X’s advertising business has endured a highly challenging few years,” said Brownsell. “Ultimately, Linda Yaccarino failed to turn that around.”
Estimates from MediaRadar show X’s U.S. ad revenue fell 19% during the first half of 2025 compared to the first half of 2024. The advertising intelligence platform expects this downward trend to continue.
“While 2025 has seen an increase in the number of companies advertising on X, the increase is overwhelmingly made up of smaller, long-tail brands versus the big-spending Fortune 1,000 advertisers X previously depended on for ad revenue growth,” said Matt Krepsik, CEO of MediaRadar.
Despite X’s past attempts to court more small and medium-sized businesses, Krepsik pointed out that small brands haven’t offset the loss of major advertisers.
Not everyone, however, has a negative outlook on X’s ad business.
Market research firm eMarketer estimates U.S. ad spend on X will rise 25% to $1.4 billion in 2025. Minda Smiley, a senior analyst at eMarketer, noted this marks the platform’s first annual increase in ad dollars since Elon Musk’s acquisition in 2022.
“The company has made some strides that have bolstered its ad revenue, like making improvements to its ad platform and rolling out new features for marketers,” said Smiley.
At the same time, Smiley added, this growth isn’t necessarily a sign of underlying health, noting some brands returned under legal pressure.
Following Yaccarino’s departure, along with Musk’s AI firm xAI acquiring the social platform in March, experts also foresee a future where X reduces its dependence on advertising for income.
