YouTube achieved record-breaking ad revenue of $10.47 billion in Q4 2024, marking a 13.8% increase from Q4 2023. This significant growth was primarily driven by U.S. election advertising, with political spending nearly doubling compared to the 2020 elections.

Alphabet's earnings report revealed that "subscriptions, platforms, and devices" revenue, including YouTube Music, reached $11.63 billion in Q4, showing a 7.8% year-over-year increase.


Despite these impressive numbers, YouTube Music continues to lag behind major competitors in U.S. subscriber share:

• Spotify maintains its lead with 263 million global subscribers
• Apple Music and Amazon Music also maintain higher U.S. subscriber numbers than YouTube Music
• Exact YouTube Music subscriber figures remain undisclosed by Alphabet

Market Impact:

• Spotify's stock reached a new record high of $630+ per share
• UBS raised Spotify's target price to $720
• Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) experienced a 7% decline, closing at $193.30 per share

This performance data gains additional significance as Spotify expands into video content, particularly in podcasting. YouTube has already established dominance in video podcasts and leads U.S. TV watch time, setting up an interesting competitive dynamic for 2025 and beyond.

The company's strong financial performance, particularly in advertising revenue, positions YouTube well against competitors, though challenges remain in growing its music streaming subscriber base to match industry leaders.

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