Elon Musk's X is winning advertisers new and old — but the comeback has a long way to go
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- X is attracting new advertisers, though its ad revenue recovery is uncertain, third-party data suggests.
- X's ad revenue dropped significantly after Musk's 2022 takeover.
- Some advertisers are cautiously plotting a comeback to X.
Elon Musk's X has successfully courted a new set of advertisers in recent months, and some big-name brands, such as Apple, are returning.
Does that mean it's seeing an advertising rebound? Well, it's complicated.
A Business Insider analysis of four independent data sources suggests X's pool of advertisers is growing, but it's far from recouping the revenue lost in the ad exodus following Musk's 2022 takeover.
X didn't respond to a request for comment. X is a private company and doesn't publicly report ad revenue data.
According to the market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, 46 of the 100 top-spending US advertisers on X in January this year weren't spending on the platform in 2022, suggesting it has cultivated a new base of advertisers. (Sensor Tower says its estimates are based on proprietary panel data and data science models and should be used for directional trend analysis.)
President Donald Trump's election victory and Musk's political ascension may have drawn new advertisers to X. It's notable, however, that a large chunk of the top 100 were spending on the platform throughout 2024 — even before the election. Chinese e-commerce giant Temu was the top advertiser last year, accounting for 3% of total US spend on the platform, according to Sensor Tower's estimates. Temu didn't respond to a request for comment.
Here were the top 10 spenders in January 2025, per Sensor Tower:
- Temu
- Robinhood
- Solar Heavy
- The NFL
- DraftKings
- Shein
- Restaurant Brands International
- Amazon
- Dell
- Red Deer Games
Sensor Tower data estimated that these advertisers spent less on X overall in January 2025 compared to the previous set of top advertisers in January 2024.
More advertisers, but fewer ad dollars
Data from the research firm MediaRadar, which analyzed a panel of more than 2 million US users, showed a similar trend. It estimated that X's US advertising revenue was $1.4 billion in 2024, down 28% from the nearly $2 billion spent on the platform in 2023.
While revenues declined, the number of companies advertising on X in 2024 increased 15% year-over-year, according to MediaRadar.
This increase could stem from a string of new deals X signed with adtech vendors to drive advertiser demand. Ads sold this way tend to go for lower prices than ads sold directly by sales teams, and X would need to share some of this revenue with these vendors. X this month signed a deal with the adtech company Magnite, as BI first reported. X has also done deals with Google and PubMatic.
Musk earlier this month reposted a screenshot of a Wall Street Journal article saying that X's 2024 revenue was down versus 2021, the last full year before it went private, but it had improved profitability in that time on an adjusted EBITDA basis. Musk didn't confirm the numbers but posted: "It's almost like I'm good with money 😂." An overall X revenue figure would also include income from its data licensing and subscription businesses, in addition to advertising.
Some advertisers are cautiously plotting a return to X
Many advertisers have been cautious about spending on X after Musk's takeover of Twitter in 2022.
The company laid off a large number of its staffers, loosened moderation and account verification rules, and brought back some banned accounts of controversial figures. Musk famously told advertisers that had stopped spending on the platform to "go fuck yourself." X is also suing 11 advertisers, alleging they collectively conspired to boycott the platform in contravention of antitrust laws.
/Alex Brandon
Despite these concerns, some industry insiders who spoke with BI posited X could benefit from Trump's November election win and Musk's increasingly influential role in his administration. They said some advertisers are contemplating whether spending on X might make sense this year.
"We see more advertising money hedging against political risk," said a top media buyer, who asked for anonymity to discuss sensitive client spending decisions. Their identity is known to BI.
"Normally, the CEO does not get involved in media buying decisions; the CMO is responsible. Now, in this political environment, the CEO is getting involved," the media buyer added.
Ruben Schreurs, CEO of the marketing consultancy Ebiquity, which works with 70 of the top 100 global advertisers, said it is seeing isolated cases of advertisers coming back to the platform, "but as of yet, no signs of a mass return."
Apple, for example, which stopped spending on X in 2023, bought ads on X again this month, MacRumors earlier reported, and BI confirmed. Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Safari. A browser that’s actually private.
— Apple (@Apple) February 10, 2025
However, Ebiquity's analysis of client spending showed that just one of its clients was spending on X in December 2024, down from 13 clients in December 2023.
Still, at least one data source suggested X has seen an uplift since the election. That was Guideline, an analytics firm that aggregates data from the world's largest media buying agencies.
Its data showed there was a 123% uplift in US spending on X from these major agencies year-over-year in December — the first full month of data after the election — and a further 42% year-over-year growth in January. This came from a low base, however, as X had experienced two years of consistent year-on-year ad spend decreases in the 60% to 80% range, per Guideline's data.
It also looks like spending in February from these agencies will be up 25% year-over-year, though this estimate from Guideline is based on forward bookings of early advertiser commitments and is still subject to change.
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