July 6th-July 12th // Estimated Reading Time: 14 minutes

Below is a roundup of last week’s notable industry news, with summaries and our opinions. We have a Q2 earnings bonanza!

Meta (👍): Revenue was up 22% to $47.52B, beating estimates. Ad revenue was up 21% to $46.56B, driven by higher ad prices, strong demand, and AI-driven efficiency gains. Daily active users for all apps grew 6% to 3.48B. Meta raised Q3 guidance above Wall Street estimates, despite heavy AI investments. Shares rose 10%+ after hours.

Amazon (👎): Revenue was up 13% to $167.7B, beating estimates. Advertising revenue was up 23% to $15.7B. Amazon’s CEO revealed that it plans to eventually add ads to Alexa+ conversations. AWS revenue is growing slower than competitors. Q3 guidance trailed Wall Street expectations. Shares fell 7%+.

Apple (👍): Revenue was up 10% to $94.0B (the biggest growth since December 2021), beating estimates. iPhone revenue was up 13% to $44.6B. Apple's Services division, which includes advertising, rose 13% to a record $27.4B. Apple will "significantly grow" AI investments. Shares rose 3%.

Microsoft (👍): Revenue was up 18% to $76.4B, beating estimates. Azure revenue grew 39%; annual Azure revenue topped $75B for the first time. AI boosted business software sales. Search and news advertising revenue was up 21%. Shares rose 9% after hours.

Roku (👍): Revenue was up 15% to $1.11B, beating estimates. Platform revenue surged 18% to $975M, driven by video ads and the Frndly acquisition. Roku posted a surprise net profit. Streaming hours reached 35.4B. Roku raised full-year platform revenue guidance and announced $400M stock buyback. Shares rose 7% after hours.

Reddit (👍): Revenue was up 78% to $500M, beating estimates. Advertising revenue surged 84% to $465M, driven by new AI-powered marketing tools. Advertising now accounts for 93% of Reddit's revenue. Daily active users inched up to 110.4M. Data licensing revenue jumped 24% to $35M from AI deals. Shares are up 25%+ since the report.

Snap (👎): Revenue was up 9% to $1.34B, missing estimates. Snap said a platform glitch let some advertisers win bids at lower prices, hurting revenue. Global daily active users were up to 469M, beating expectations, but global average revenue per user ($2.87) fell short of Wall Street estimates ($2.90). Q3 guidance exceeded expectations. Shares fell 15%.

SiriusXM (👎): Revenue was down 2% to $2.14B, beating estimates. Podcast revenue was up nearly 50% due to "expanded video and social monetization" and new signings. Pandora's ad revenue was down 1.5% from lower ad demand. SiriusXM maintained its full-year guidance. Shares fell over 7%.

Comcast (👍): Revenue was up 2.1% to $30.3B, beating estimates. Peacock subscribers were flat, but revenue was up 18% to $1.2B. Peacock lost $101M, compared to $348M last year. NBCUniversal revenue was up 2%, but ad revenue fell 7% due to weak linear ad revenue. Broadband subscriber losses weren’t as bad as expected. Shares rose 3%

Criteo (🤷): Revenue was up 2% to $483M, beating estimates. Retail media revenue, minus traffic acquisition costs, was up 11% to $60M. Retargeting revenue was up 6% to $232M. Criteo raised full-year guidance. Shares were flat. 

Stagwell (👍): Organic growth was 0.6% to $598M. The challenger agency holding company reported a $5M net loss as it doubled down on tech and AI investments. New clients like Samsung, New Balance, ServiceNow, and Volkswagen added $117M in net new business revenue. Shares rose. 

Zeta Global (👍): Revenue was up 35% to $308M, beating estimates. The marketing cloud + ad tech company delivered its 16th straight "beat and raise" quarter. Zeta raised full-year revenue guidance. Shares rose by single digits after hours.

DoubleVerify (👍): Revenue was up 21% to $189M, beating estimates. Activation revenue grew 25% to $109M, measurement revenue up 15% to $63M, and supply-side revenue grew 26% to $17M. The ad verification vendor raised full-year revenue growth to ~15%. Shares rose 8% after hours.

Digital Turbine (🤷): Revenue was up 11% to $130.9M, beating estimates. The company touted strong demand for its Ignite platform and better device sales. Digital Turbine raised full-year revenue guidance. Shares spiked before falling by double digits. 

Fox Corp. (🤷): Revenue was up 6% to $3.29B, beating estimates. Ad revenue grew 7% to $1.1B, driven by Tubi and Fox News. Fox will launch its Fox One streaming service on August 21 at $19.99/month. Despite the positive results, shares fell 3%. 

Opinion: These earnings reports are better than we expected given the economic uncertainty we saw in Q2, when the tariff wars were raging. Sixty percent of the reports this week were positive, meaning that the companies largely beat analysts' expectations and were rewarded with stock price gains. Three reports fell short, and another three were a bit unclear.

But our big takeaway from Q2 earnings is the emergence of what we’re calling the "AI dividend". 

Mark Zuckerberg specifically credited AI technology for "greater efficiency and gains across our ad system", which led to 22% revenue growth and a huge stock price jump for Meta. Google's AI Overviews now support over 2 billion monthly users and drive more than 10% of global search queries, and Google is pushing search more aggressively towards “AI Mode”. Amazon's 22% ad revenue surge to $15.7 billion was powered by "AI-enhanced targeting" and "AI-powered bidding algorithms". This feels like the first earnings cycle where executives can draw direct lines between AI investments and ad revenue growth—not future promises, but actual dollars today. And it’s leading to tons more investment in these companies. This is the “AI Dividend”.

We’re seeing the market bifurcate. Google, Meta, and Amazon are selling AI-powered outcomes while platforms like Pinterest and Snapchat are stuck explaining traditional metrics. The effect compounds in either direction. Platforms with better AI today generate more revenue and raise more money, which funds better AI tomorrow, which attracts more users and advertisers, which generates more data to train on, which leads to better AI. Meanwhile, platforms without compelling AI narratives face the opposite, downward spiral. 

You know what to do…

TikTok to Roll Out New Tool for Advertisers to Follow People Beyond the App - TikTok's new "Engaged Session" feature will track users who spend at least 10 seconds on advertiser websites after clicking on their ads, providing post-click behavior insights without relying on pixels. This tool addresses a major blind spot where social media ad clicks don't always lead to material engagement, especially as privacy restrictions make traditional pixel-based tracking more problematic. Engaged Session has yet to be announced or formally rolled out. In other TikTok news, the app is extending its reach to 15,000 in-taxi screens through a new partnership with ride-hailing app Curb Mobility. TikTok's user-generated content, including curated lifestyle videos and local news commentary, will be featured on Taxi TV, Curb's digital out-of-home network, providing new inventory for advertisers who want to reach audiences in real-world environments. The Curb deal is similar to TikTok's other partnerships with Loop TV, ReachTV, GSTV and Volta Charging, which is owned by Shell. It’s almost as if there’s no impending ban!

Ad Tech Firm OpenX Accuses Google of 'Rigging' Ad Auctions in New Antitrust Lawsuit - Once a judge found Google's ad tech practices to be anti-competitive, it was only a matter of time before more lawsuits started to roll in. The latest complaint comes from OpenX, a company that was founded as an ad server but then pivoted to supply side platform.. OpenX alleges that Google’s policy to require publishers to use its ad server forced it to close its own ad server in 2019. OpenX also says Google prevented publishers from setting price floors that would favor competing ad exchanges and manipulated ad auctions, giving itself an unfair advantage that hurt OpenX's ad network. Although OpenX continues to partner with Google in other areas such as cloud and DV360, it is seeking both financial damages and a judgment to stop Google's anti-competitive practices going forward. Is this just the beginning? Will more companies start filing lawsuits against Google to try and get their fair share?

Nielsen, WPP Media Strike New Audience-Measurement Data Agreement - WPP Media will integrate Nielsen's advanced audiences data into its AI planning tool, WPP Open, allowing the agency holding company to access more granular viewer segments beyond traditional age and gender demographics. The agreement follows Nielsen's rollout of its Big Data + Panel technology, which combines smart-TV viewership data with its traditional consumer panels to measure audiences across linear and streaming platforms. The Media Rating Council accredited Big Data + Panel earlier this year, and it was Nielsen's preferred currency at the upfronts, but many industry players aren't happy with the product. Some have seen big discrepancies and complained; Nielsen examined its model but ended up not making changes, leaving some frustrated. This has left the door open for measurement competitors like iSpot and Comscore. Separately, Nielsen introduced a new Outcomes Marketplace to give advertisers a suite of performance measurement tools so they can track outcomes such as attention and conversions. 

How Google is pitching new AI Mode search ads to marketers - Google is preparing to more widely roll out ads in AI Mode by Q4. AI Mode is the next step beyond AI Overviews, with a more immersive AI experience and conversational responses to search queries instead of  traditional search results. Ads appear “where relevant” below and “integrated into” AI Mode responses. 

AI Mode ads will be targeted based on AI conversational responses and user queries. AI Mode now has more than 100M monthly active users in the US and India. Google faces the challenging task of monetizing its AI-powered search features without destroying the traditional search ad business that still drives the majority of Alphabet's revenue. Google's aggressive push into AI search advertising comes as competitors like Perplexity and ChatGPT gain traction. Performance Max and AI Max for Search campaigns will place text-based ads within AI Mode. 

Introducing Spectrum Reach Architect: AI-Powered Insights for Advertisers - Spectrum Reach has launched Architect, an AI-driven media planning platform to help advertisers struggling with cross-channel planning. The AI tool uses machine learning to analyze performance data from tens of thousands of campaigns and Spectrum's data from its streaming app. Architect then provides tailored recommendations for TV, digital, and streaming placements, with the goal of maximizing reach and frequency while minimizing waste. Spectrum, which has direct connections to over 30M US households, tested Architect with 2,000 local advertisers for a six-month trial period. The platform represents Spectrum's broader push into AI-powered advertising tools, building on its existing Audience Reach Optimizer and Customer Data Match offerings to serve clients of all sizes.

X Will Give Brands Lower Ad Rates for ‘Aesthetic’ Ads - The platform is implementing a new scoring system that rewards advertisers for creating "beautiful" ads without hashtags, symbols, or excessive emojis. X will give these pretty ads lower CPMs, while algorithmically suppressing ads that don't meet the aesthetic guidelines. X's head of Americas says the move is designed to combat "low-quality, spammy-type advertising" and create a better user experience, though critics might see it as a response to ongoing complaints about crypto ads and explicit game promotions flooding user feeds.

The company is also adding an AI-powered "Explain this post" button using Grok to fact-check ad claims, as X continues integrating AI into its advertising products. While X's ad revenue is projected to grow 16.5% to $2.46 billion in 2025, it still represents only 55% of the platform's pre-Musk revenue levels from 2021.

H.I.G. Capital Completes $70B-Backed Acquisition of Kantar Media for Independent Growth - Private equity firm H.I.G. Capital has finalized its acquisition of measurement heavyweight Kantar Media from Kantar Group. The deal positions London-based Kantar Media for its next phase as an independent entity. Kantar Media operates in more than 60 countries, specializing in audience measurement, cross-media analytics, and media validation tools that give brands, agencies, and media owners insights into media consumption and ad performance. Kantar CEO Patrick Béhar said that the acquisition will help "sharpen strategic focus" and "accelerate innovation" while reinforcing Kantar Media's position as an independent authority in media measurement. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

ESPN to acquire NFL Network in landmark agreement - ESPN will acquire NFL Network, RedZone Channel, and NFL Fantasy in a deal that gives the NFL a 10% equity stake in ESPN. The agreement adds three more NFL games per season to ESPN's platforms and merges NFL Fantasy with ESPN Fantasy to create the official NFL fantasy game. This strategic move positions ESPN's upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service with significantly more NFL content while giving the league deeper integration into Disney's media ecosystem. Live sports are the most valuable advertising real estate around today and Disney just doubled-down. Or … is this the move that sets the stage for Disney to get out of ESPN?

As YouTube Shorts reaches 200 billion views, advertisers increase their investment - Agencies are pushing clients toward Shorts, which often has CPMs around $5 compared to $10-$12 for Meta’s Reels and TikTok. 

Roku launches Howdy, a $2.99 ad-free streaming service - Howdy, with nearly 10,000 hours of content from Warner Bros. Discovery, Lionsgate, and other partners, is meant to complement premium streaming services, not compete with them, according to Roku. 

This Ad Tech OG’s AI-Powered Analytics Startup Just Raised $9M In Series A Funding - John Hoctor, co-founder of TV analytics company Data Plus Math, launched Newton Research in 2023 to help agencies use AI for media planning, buying, and measurement.

IAB Tech Lab, Industry Suppliers Create Live Stream Ad Playbook - Amazon, FreeWheel, Index Exchange, and NBCUniversal helped the IAB Tech Lab design the toolkit with standards and best practices for live streaming ads. 

Scope3 launches AI brand safety integration with Amazon DSP - The integration brings Scope3's Brand Standards and Agentic Media Platform to Amazon DSP. Advertisers can deploy custom models for media buying decisions and use Scope3's pre-bid segments. 

Amazon denies report it’s shutting down Wondery podcast studio - Despite laying off 110 people on Monday, Amazon said it is still developing creator-led podcasts under the Wondery banner, but with a new team. The company will merge its narrative podcast studio with Audible. 

Advertisers Can Now Target Home Depot Shoppers on Yahoo DSP, Even If They're Not on the Retailer's Shelves - Travel, insurance, telecom, or automotive advertisers can now use Home Depot's shopper data and target Home Depot customers when they buy ads on Yahoo DSP.  

Michael Kassan Says He 'Feels Good' After Reaching 'Amicable' Agreement With UTA - United Talent Agency famously alleged that Kassan had used nearly $1M in business funds for his personal use.

Dotdash Meredith rebrands as People Inc. - Dotdash Meredith has several publications, including Better Homes & Gardens, Food & Wine, and Southern Living, but People is its most popular. 

Madison and Wall’s upbeat take on ad spend: Q2 ad growth in the US will be similar to Q1’s 9.7% rate, says Brian Wieser. “While there are many reasons to expect an eventual slowdown, no signs are evident that it is occurring for the advertising industry at this point in time."

Perplexity is using stealth, undeclared crawlers to evade website no-crawl directives - Content delivery network Cloudflare says AI search company Perplexity sometimes ignores website preferences. Cloudflare has de-listed Perplexity as a verified bot. 

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