What Is YouTube’s Ad Revenue?

YouTube’s ad revenue has been a mystery for far too long! Finally, the numbers have been revealed. $28.8 Billion is the amount YT generated in ad revenue in 2021.

Since Google bought YouTube for $1.76 billion in late 2006, the platform has demonstrated for the first time how powerful an advertising machine it is. YouTube produced over $28 billion in ad revenue in 2021, up 47% from 2020.

What Is YouTube’s Ad Revenue 2021?

YouTube generated $28.8 billion in ad revenue in 2021, according to Google CEO Sundar Pichai. According to these figures, YouTube advertisements account for around 3% of total Google revenue. With these numbers, YouTube’s ad business is around one-fourth the size of Facebook’s (2021: $114 billion, +26 percent) and nearly nine times the size of Twitch (That’s massive!).

Despite the Covid epidemic, YouTube’s revenue continued to rise. YouTube’s ad revenue increased by 47%. YouTube brand advertising growth surged in the first two months of the quarter but began to suffer headwinds in the middle of March, according to Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat. She went on to say that direct response advertising on YouTube, which frequently tempts viewers to buy something, “continued to see considerable year-on-year increase throughout the entire quarter.”

Is YouTube making a profit?

In its 2021 earnings statement, Google did not break out the profitability of YouTube. You should be aware that the majority of the $28.8 billion in ad revenue goes to the creators. The company wouldn’t reveal how much of the $28.8 billion goes to YouTube’s content creators, but it has been indicated that the reimbursements are part of the company’s $8.5 billion in “content acquisition” costs.

The most recent accurate information about YouTube’s profit is seven years old. According to the Wall Street Journal, a Google employee told the publication in 2015 that YouTube is “basically break-even.” Since then, a great deal has changed. With $28.8 billion in revenue and an anticipated 4,000 employees, YouTube is likely to be profitable by 2021, despite the high costs of content acquisition and infrastructure.

$28.8 billion in ad revenue and still not making a profit? That’s highly unlikely!

Conclusion

YouTube ad revenue has been a topic of intrigue for far too long and now the curtains have been lifted. YouTube’s ad revenue has grown 90% since 2019 and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. Both direct-response marketers and brand ad campaigns are seen as having “substantial continuing opportunities” by YouTube. YouTube’s ad revenue has increased by more than 30% every year for the past four years. Keep an eye out!