YouTube's $9.8 billion ad revenue in the second quarter is its biggest ever
YouTube's strong lead in revenue and viewership forces competitors to reconsider their strategies.
YouTube has achieved yet another impressive quarter, and this time, the numbers reveal more than just ad dollars.
In its Q2 2025 earnings report, Alphabet, YouTube's parent company, revealed that YouTube generated $9.8 billion in ad revenue, beating analyst expectations of $9.6 billion and marking a solid 13% year-over-year growth. That’s a jump from $8.7 billion in the same period last year, showing not just consistency, but acceleration.
This growth didn’t happen in a vacuum. YouTube’s momentum is closely tied to its growing dominance on the living room screen. For the third month in a row, Nielsen reported that YouTube led all platforms in U.S. TV viewership, claiming 12.4% of total television time in May, then climbing even further to 12.8% in June. For comparison, Netflix held second place at 8.3%, while no other platform even cracked 5%.
This shift toward TV viewership shows YouTube is no longer just the go-to place for viral videos or creator content; it’s becoming the default TV channel for millions. And the ad dollars are following the eyeballs.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
While traditional broadcasters and streamers like HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, and even Netflix push harder into ad-supported models, YouTube is already comfortably ahead. Netflix only recently announced its goal to double its ad revenue, which analysts estimate to be around $3 billion. That’s less than a third of what YouTube just pulled in this quarter alone.
It’s no surprise, then, that Alphabet’s overall earnings reflect this strength. The company reported $96.4 billion in total revenue, a 13% increase year over year, and $28.2 billion in net income, up 19% from Q2 2024.
YouTube’s contribution here is clear. With operating income from Google Services rising by approximately 11.4%, YouTube is playing a key role in padding Alphabet’s bottom line, alongside steady performers like Search (which hit $54.2 billion, up from $48.5 billion a year ago).
The question now is whether the competition can realistically catch up. With YouTube firmly ahead in both revenue and viewership, competitors are forced to rethink strategy. Netflix’s possible move into user-generated content may be a sign of that pressure. And while others are growing their ad offerings, they still lack YouTube’s reach, over 2.7 billion monthly users, and the second most visited site on the planet.
So yes, YouTube had a strong quarter. But more than that, it had a quarter that further shows just how ahead it is. And from the looks of it, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
