META US · GOOGL US · Advertising

Meta vs
Google

Quarterly advertising revenue and growth·Q1 2023 to Q3 2026

Revenue

Meta’s advertising revenue has gone from 52% of Google’s to 77%

Quarterly advertising revenue, USD billions

Meta advertisingGoogle advertising
015304560759028.154.531.558.133.659.638.765.535.661.738.364.639.965.946.872.541.466.946.671.350.174.258.182.355.077.359.481.663.182.0Q1 '23Q2 '23Q3 '23Q4 '23Q1 '24Q2 '24Q3 '24Q4 '24Q1 '25Q2 '25Q3 '25Q4 '25Q1 '26Q2 '26Q3 '26

Source: Meta quarterly earnings releases (segment information, “Advertising”); Alphabet quarterly earnings releases (supplemental information, revenues by type). Growth recomputed from reported US-dollar figures; prior-year bases from the 2022 releases.

2

Meta vs Google Search

Meta’s advertising is now as big as Google Search: USD 63.1bn against USD 63.4bn in Q3 2026

Quarterly revenue, USD billions · bottom row: Meta as % of Search

Meta advertisingGoogle Search & other
0153045607528.140.431.542.633.644.038.748.035.646.238.348.539.949.446.854.041.450.746.654.250.156.658.163.155.060.459.463.363.163.4Q1 '2370%Q2 '2374%Q3 '2376%Q4 '2381%Q1 '2477%Q2 '2479%Q3 '2481%Q4 '2487%Q1 '2582%Q2 '2586%Q3 '2589%Q4 '2592%Q1 '2691%Q2 '2694%Q3 '2699.5%

Source: Meta quarterly earnings releases (segment information, “Advertising”); Alphabet quarterly earnings releases (supplemental information, revenues by type, “Google Search & other”). Search & other is Google’s largest advertising line; Google advertising also includes YouTube ads and Google Network.

3

Growth

Meta has grown faster than Google in every quarter since Q1 2023

Year-on-year advertising growth, reported, %

Meta advertisingGoogle advertising
-5%0%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%4.111.923.523.826.821.718.620.916.221.525.624.332.927.525.9-0.23.39.511.013.011.110.410.68.510.412.613.615.514.410.6Q1 '23Q2 '23Q3 '23Q4 '23Q1 '24Q2 '24Q3 '24Q4 '24Q1 '25Q2 '25Q3 '25Q4 '25Q1 '26Q2 '26Q3 '26

Source: Meta quarterly earnings releases (segment information, “Advertising”); Alphabet quarterly earnings releases (supplemental information, revenues by type). Growth recomputed from reported US-dollar figures; prior-year bases from the 2022 releases. Meta’s stated ex-FX advertising growth in Q3 2026 was 26%, the same as reported; Alphabet does not give constant-currency growth for its advertising lines.

4

Google’s mix

Search carries Google; YouTube and Network trail Meta by wider margins

Year-on-year growth, reported, %

Meta advertisingGoogle Search & otherYouTube adsGoogle Network
-10%-5%0%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%25.912.09.21.4Q1 '23Q2 '23Q3 '23Q4 '23Q1 '24Q2 '24Q3 '24Q4 '24Q1 '25Q2 '25Q3 '25Q4 '25Q1 '26Q2 '26Q3 '26

Source: Meta quarterly earnings releases (segment information, “Advertising”); Alphabet quarterly earnings releases (supplemental information, revenues by type). Growth recomputed from reported US-dollar figures; prior-year bases from the 2022 releases. Alphabet’s stated line growth reconciles where given: Search & other 17%, 19%, 17%, 12% (Q4 2025 to Q3 2026); YouTube ads 9%, 11%, 13% (Q4 2025 to Q2 2026).

5

The growth gap

The gap has widened to about 15 points in 2026

Meta advertising growth minus Google advertising growth, percentage points

Quarterly gapCalendar-year average
0 pt5 pt10 pt15 pt20 pt4.38.614.012.913.810.68.110.37.711.112.910.717.413.115.42023 avg 9.9 pt2024 avg 10.7 pt2025 avg 10.6 pt2026 (9M) avg 15.3 ptQ1 '23Q2 '23Q3 '23Q4 '23Q1 '24Q2 '24Q3 '24Q4 '24Q1 '25Q2 '25Q3 '25Q4 '25Q1 '26Q2 '26Q3 '26

Source: Meta quarterly earnings releases (segment information, “Advertising”); Alphabet quarterly earnings releases (supplemental information, revenues by type). Growth recomputed from reported US-dollar figures; prior-year bases from the 2022 releases.

6

Takeaways

What the reported numbers show

  • The gap is widening. Meta’s advertising growth exceeded Google’s by 4.3 points in Q1 2023 and 15.4 points in Q3 2026. The yearly average was 9.9, 10.7 and 10.6 points in 2023–2025 and 15.3 points in the first nine months of 2026.
  • The Q3 2026 widening came from Google. Meta grew 25.9% against 27.5% in Q2; Google slowed to 10.6% from 14.4%, with Search & other at 12.0% from 16.8%.
  • Scale is converging. Meta’s Q3 2026 advertising revenue was USD 63.1bn against Google’s USD 82.0bn (77%, up from 52% in Q1 2023), and 99.5% of Google Search & other alone.
  • Google’s other lines lag. YouTube ads grew 9.2% in Q3 2026. Network shrank year on year in every one of the 14 quarters from Q1 2023 to Q2 2026, then grew 1.4% in Q3 2026.
  • Currency: measured for Meta only. Meta’s stated ex-FX advertising growth differed from reported by at most 4 points in any quarter (Q1 2025: 16% reported, 20% ex-FX; Q1 2026: 33% and 29%) and equalled reported growth in Q3 2026. Alphabet does not disclose constant-currency growth for its advertising lines, so currency’s contribution to the gap between the two companies is not quantified here; all growth comparisons are on reported figures.

Source: Meta quarterly earnings releases (segment information, “Advertising”); Alphabet quarterly earnings releases (supplemental information, revenues by type). Growth recomputed from reported US-dollar figures; prior-year bases from the 2022 releases.

7

Data

Quarterly data, Q1 2023 to Q3 2026

QuarterMeta ads
USD bn		Meta YoY
%		Meta stated
reported / ex-FX %		Google ads
USD bn		Google YoY
%		Search & other
YoY %		YouTube ads
YoY %		Network
YoY %		Gap
pt
Q1 202328.14.14 / 754.5-0.21.9-2.6-8.34.3
Q2 202331.511.912 / 1358.13.34.84.4-5.08.6
Q3 202333.623.524 / 2159.69.511.312.5-2.614.0
Q4 202338.723.824 / 2165.511.012.715.5-2.112.9
Q1 202435.626.827 / 2661.713.014.420.9-1.113.8
Q2 202438.321.722 / 2364.611.113.813.0-5.210.6
Q3 202439.918.619 / 2065.910.412.212.2-1.68.1
Q4 202446.820.921 / 2172.510.612.513.8-4.110.3
Q1 202541.416.216 / 2066.98.59.810.3-2.17.7
Q2 202546.621.521 / 2271.310.411.713.1-1.211.1
Q3 202550.125.626 / 2574.212.614.515.0-2.612.9
Q4 202558.124.324 / 2382.313.616.78.7-1.610.7
Q1 202655.032.933 / 2977.315.519.110.7-3.917.4
Q2 202659.427.527 / 2681.614.416.812.9-0.713.1
Q3 202663.125.926 / 2682.010.612.09.21.415.4

Source: Meta quarterly earnings releases (segment information, “Advertising”); Alphabet quarterly earnings releases (supplemental information, revenues by type). Growth recomputed from reported US-dollar figures; prior-year bases from the 2022 releases. Every recomputed Meta growth rate rounds to Meta’s stated figure.

8

Sources and notes

Sources: one earnings release per company per quarter

QuarterMeta releaseAlphabet release
Q1 20222022-04-27 · sec.gov2022-04-26 · company IR
Q2 20222022-07-27 · sec.gov2022-07-26 · company IR
Q3 20222022-10-26 · company IR2022-10-25 · company IR
Q4 20222023-02-01 · release p.102023-02-02 · sec.gov
Q1 20232023-04-26 · release p.92023-04-25 · release p.2
Q2 20232023-07-26 · release p.102023-07-25 · release p.2
Q3 20232023-10-25 · release p.72023-10-24 · release p.2
Q4 20232024-02-01 · release p.82024-01-30 · release p.2
Q1 20242024-04-24 · release p.82024-04-25 · release p.2
Q2 20242024-07-31 · release p.92024-07-23 · release p.2
Q3 20242024-10-30 · sec.gov2024-10-29 · release p.2
Q4 20242025-01-29 · release p.72025-02-04 · release p.2
Q1 20252025-04-30 · release p.82025-04-24 · release p.2
Q2 20252025-07-30 · release p.82025-07-23 · release p.2
Q3 20252025-10-29 · release p.92025-10-29 · release p.2
Q4 20252026-01-28 · release p.92026-02-04 · release p.2
Q1 20262026-04-29 · release p.82026-04-29 · release p.2
Q2 20262026-07-29 · release p.92026-07-22 · release p.2
Q3 20262026-10-21 · release p.102026-10-28 · release p.2
  • Lines. Meta: “Advertising” revenue in segment information (Family of Apps; equals consolidated advertising). Google: “Google advertising”, the sum of Google Search & other, YouTube ads and Google Network, before traffic acquisition costs.
  • Growth. Year-on-year growth is recomputed from reported US-dollar revenue. Meta also states ex-FX advertising growth, shown in the data table; Alphabet states constant-currency growth for total revenues and by region but not for its advertising lines, so Google ad-line growth is reported only.
  • Consistency. No prior-year figure was restated in a later release. Google’s components sum to its total every quarter, and both companies’ quarters sum to their 10-K annual figures (Meta within USD 1m of rounding). Every Q4 is printed in its own release.
  • Cut-off. Q3 2026 releases: Meta 21 October 2026, Alphabet 28 October 2026.

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minotaurcapital.com

General information only. This presentation is not an offer, recommendation or personal financial advice, and does not take account of any person’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Figures are taken from company earnings releases and have not been audited by Minotaur Capital. Funds managed by Minotaur Capital may hold positions in the companies discussed.