Count YouTube as one of the winners of the 2024 election. During Alphabet’s fourth quarter of 2024, YouTube reported that its ad revenue grew 13.8% year-over-year. By the end of the quarter, YouTube’s revenue was $10.47 billion, compared to the $9.2 billion the platform saw in 2023, marking the largest quarter in its history.
This boost was primarily due to strong ad spends tied to the U.S. election. Combined spending on the platform from both Republicans and Democrats almost doubled the ad spends YouTube saw during the 2020 campaign. Alphabet’s continued focus on AI, which allows the platform to do a better job recommending videos to users, also contributed to this quarter’s growth.