European Digital Advertising Market Grows to €118.9bn, While X's Ad Revenue Remains Minor

The IAB Europe AdEx Benchmark 2024 report released on 21 May 2025 estimates the European digital advertising market at €118.9 billion, a 16 % year‑on‑year increase. The study highlights the sector’s dependence on large foreign platforms for media buying, audience access, data hosting and measurement, and outlines three key challenges: reclaiming the value chain, turning regulation such as the GDPR, DSA and DMA into a competitive advantage, and accelerating AI‑driven technological innovation.

In a separate development, X (formerly Twitter) generated $367 million in advertising revenue in the April‑June 2026 quarter, according to company data. Although this marks a modest rise from the previous quarter’s $343 million, it remains a tiny share of Elon Musk’s broader empire, which includes SpaceX’s AI and Starlink businesses generating billions of dollars. The figure is far below the $1.08 billion X earned in the comparable quarter of 2022, underscoring the platform’s diminished role as an advertising engine.