YouTube missed expectations on ad revenue as growth slowed down

Content creator Julian Shapiro-Barnum spoke at the Made on YouTube event. Noam Galai/Getty Images for Made on YouTube 2026 YouTube's ad revenue fell short of analysts' expectations for the third quarter. Its parent reported $11.2 billion in Q3 ads revenue, under analysts' $11.43 billion estimate. The company said it now has 150 million YouTube Music and premium subscribers, up from 125 million in March. YouTube's ad revenue growth is slowing down — and missed analysts' estimates in the third quarter. YouTube's parent company, Alphabet, reported $11.2 billion in third-quarter YouTube ads revenue, a 9% increase from a year ago. That falls below the $11.43 billion analyst consensus estimate. Its ads revenue growth also slowed from the previous quarter, when it pulled in about $11.1 billion, a 13% increase from the previous year. Beyond YouTube, Alphabet missed revenue estimates in other areas of its business. Google's services revenue was $96.3 billion, below analysts' $98.4 billion estimate. In a bright spot, it beat revenue estimates for its cloud business. The company's shares were down around 8.5% in after-hours trading. While YouTube's ad revenue was weaker than expected, it wasn't all bad news. The company said it now has over 150 million YouTube Music and Premium subscribers, up from 125 million in March 2025. The company said its subscriptions business was growing faster than ads. YouTube has also been the envy of rivals in key areas like TV viewership. Its share of US television viewership was about twice that of Netflix in August, according to recent Nielsen estimates. Netflix, meanwhile, walked back its full-year ad revenue expectations during last week's earnings. The streamer lowered its ad revenue forecast from $3 billion to $2.7 billion after experiencing delays around the rollout of its ad products. It laid off about 1,000 workers earlier this month. This week, Instagram unveiled an overhaul of long-form video features seemingly designed to counter YouTube and bolster its presence on TV screens. "Everyone in streaming is chasing YouTube, and even Instagram is going to pivot their strategy based on the success that YouTube's had," said Ross Benes, a senior analyst at EMARKETER, Business Insider's sister company. Read the original article on Business Insider