Q3 earnings are starting to come in, and the advertising industry’s biggest tech players had very different quarters.
Meta and Reddit delivered strong growth, while Amazon and Pinterest had a tougher time. Meanwhile, AI continues to reshape how platforms sell ads, with Google working to expand monetization across AI search.
Here’s what six major ad platforms reported, along with how the market reacted post.
Reddit: Ad Revenue Jumps 54%
Advertising revenue surged 54% to $847 million, making Reddit one of the quarter’s fastest-growing ad platforms. But declining search referrals and plans to test a logged-in-only experience outside the U.S. have raised concerns about discoverability and future growth. Reddit shares dropped nearly 30% following earnings.
Meta: Ad Growth Remains Strong
Ad revenue jumped 26% to $63.1 billion. Impressions rose 10%, while average ad prices increased 14%. Meta also credited AI-powered improvements with helping drive advertising growth. Still, shares have fallen nearly 12% since earnings.
Google: AI Search Ads Take Center Stage
Google’s advertising revenue grew 11% to $82 billion, but Search and YouTube both missed forecasts. Google is expanding ads in AI Mode as it works to monetize AI search. Alphabet shares have fallen close to 14% since earnings.
Amazon: Ad Growth Slows Sharply
Ad revenue grew 11% to $19.6 billion, down from 26% growth in Q2. Amazon attributed the slowdown primarily to Prime Day’s timing and expects a rebound in Q4. Shares have slipped just over 1% since earnings.
Pinterest: Ad Prices Fall as Impressions Rise
Pinterest reached a record 661 million monthly users, while total revenue, primarily from advertising, grew 12% to $1.17 billion. Ad impressions rose 17%, but prices fell 4%. Pinterest is testing Visual Search Ads to improve monetization. Shares declined nearly 3% following earnings.
Microsoft: Search and Advertising Beat Expectations
Search and advertising revenue reached $6.55 billion, up 10% year over year, or 12% excluding traffic acquisition costs. Bing and Edge continued gaining share, helping the ad business beat expectations. Microsoft shares slipped roughly 2% following earnings.
Microsoft’s results cover its fiscal Q1 2027, which ended in September 2026.
Experts React
Here’s a collection of posts from X about the company results:
Our Take
Some interesting numbers so far, but the market’s reaction tells another story. (See previous earnings reports here.)
Reddit and Meta are growing faster than their peers, yet both have seen their shares fall sharply. Reddit faces questions about search traffic, while Amazon and Pinterest are struggling to turn growing audiences and inventory into stronger revenue growth.
AI is another factor. Meta is already crediting it with driving ad performance, while Google is still working to monetize AI search. Clearly, strong ad growth alone isn’t enough to satisfy investors.
