Verizon Media has finally done it.
Today, during Verizon’s Q4 earnings report, the company shared that its media and ad tech division, Verizon Media, saw its first quarter of year-over-year growth since acquiring Yahoo in 2017. Total revenue climbed to $2.3 billion, up 11.4% compared to Q4 2019.
For comparison’s sake, Verizon Media’s previous quarters since 2019 were:
- Q4 2020: $2.3 billion (+11.4%+ YoY)
- Q3 2020: $1.7 billion (-7.4% YoY)
- Q2 2020: $1.4 billion (-24.5%-YoY)
- Q1 2020: $1.7 billion (-4%- YoY)
- Q4 2019: $2.1 billion (Flat)
- Q3 2019: $1.8 billion (-2% YoY)
- Q2 2019: $1.8 billion (-2.9% YoY)
- Q1 2019: $1.8 billion (-7.2% YoY)
According to the company, “Growth in the quarter was fueled by strong advertising trends with revenue from the demand side platform growing 41% year over year.” While Verizon Media did not elaborate further, here’s what likely played a role in the company’s long-awaited milestone.
Connected TV
With streaming viewership exploding, Verizon Media — like the Trade Desk — has sought to own a piece of that growing ad market, making CTV a core part of its demand-side offering. For example, the division rolled out a series of CTV-related products in 2020, including tune-in attribution. They also announced deals with Innovid and Brightline to deliver interactive ads on CTV.
Commerce
Verizon Media likely benefited from the holiday shopping season, as well. CEO Guru Gowrappan has talked at length about his desire to deliver more commerce opportunities across Verizon’s brand portfolio, from Yahoo Mail to TechCrunch. Ultimately, Gowrappan says his goal is get commerce to account for one-third of Verizon Media’s revenue in the next few years.
Verizon Media’s deal with Walmart is an example of the company chasing the opportunity. In a November announcement, the two unveiled “30 Days of Savings,” a commerce content series with shoppable gift guides, tips on how to navigate the holidays, and a month-long opportunity to save on Walmart products.
The company shared more on their commerce focusing during their earnings call: “The fourth quarter also saw continued high consumer engagement in eCommerce as offline to online shopping behaviors continued through the holiday season on our owned and operated properties. In particular, mail eCommerce revenue growth was 7 times that of the prior year, and we saw continued strength in finance and news as daily active users grew 52% and 11%, respectively.”
Verizon Media also benefitted from a surge in ad dollars over the holiday period as brands tried to break through the clutter following a quieter than usual year due to COVID-19. All the major big box retailers, for example, flooded the ad market.
After well-documented starts and stops, Verizon Media seems to be on the rise. In addition to its positive earnings news, last week, the company announced it had won Microsoft’s global SSP business, taking it away from rival AppNexus and Xandr.
While many in the industry have questioned the deliberate pace of the company’s growth, the process seems to be paying off — finally.
