Elon Musk’s social network, now known as X, is expected to see its first year of advertising revenue growth since his acquisition in 2022, according to research firm Emarketer. The platform is projected to generate $1.31 billion in U.S. advertising sales in 2025, marking a 17.5% increase. Globally, X’s ad sales are anticipated to reach $2.26 billion this year, up 16.5%.
Advertisers, many of whom left due to Musk’s relaxed standards for harmful content, are returning partly because of Musk’s position as a senior adviser to former President Donald Trump. Emarketer Principal Analyst Jasmine Enberg noted that some of this growth is driven by advertisers seeking favor with the Trump administration, although it may not indicate a full rebound in X’s advertising business, which remains significantly smaller than when Musk bought the platform for $44 billion in late 2022. In its last year as a public company, X reported $4.5 billion in advertising revenue.
X’s advertising revenue took a hit after Musk’s acquisition due to the removal of certain content policies, leading many advertisers to pause spending for fear of being associated with inappropriate content. However, as competitors like Facebook and Instagram have also relaxed their content rules, advertisers may now view spending on X as a necessary cost of doing business, especially in light of Musk’s legal actions against major advertisers who are not spending on the platform.
Despite the recent uptick in advertising revenue and the positive effects of Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration, Emarketer does not expect X’s advertising revenue to return to its pre-Musk levels anytime soon. The firm’s global ad revenue forecast for 2027 is $2.6 billion, which is 42% smaller than the company’s revenue in 2021.
