In recent years, the social media landscape has undergone seismic shifts, none more striking than the declining advertising revenues of X (formerly known as Twitter). Since Elon Musk's high-profile acquisition and the platform’s rebranding, advertisers have grown increasingly cautious. With the recent departure of Linda Yaccarino as CEO after joining June 2023, MediaRadar's conducted a comprehensive analysis of ad spend on X since January 2022 to paint a clear picture of this downward trajectory.
MediaRadar's insights revealed consistent 12-month declines steep since June 2022, with the most significant occurring after June 2024 at 27%:
When breaking the numbers down month by month, the decline is even more stark. All 12 months decreased in 2024 and H2 2025 is following suit.
Largest scale backs from 2022 occurred May and June - both down nearly half in 2025.
Notably, even months that saw stable or increasing spend in previous years, such as March and April, have been unable to escape this overall downward trend. The chart below visually underscores this erosion in ad spend across almost every month between 2022 and 2025.
Another key insight lies in the list of top advertisers. X's reliance on major brands has proven precarious, with many top advertisers from previous years significantly reducing or even completely halting their spending:
What stands out is the sheer volatility among X's advertisers. For instance:
This kind of rapid retreat indicates a lack of long-term confidence, likely influenced by X's policy changes, brand safety concerns and the xAI / Grok association with X as a content and advertising platform.
Interestingly, the platform has seen short bursts of spend from new, smaller players stemming from the Finance, Media & Entertainment industries, among others. However, these gains have not offset the losses from traditional big-budget advertisers.
While many household names have stepped back, newer or niche brands are momentarily filing the void:
The influx of smaller, digital-native advertisers suggests that while X's appeal to legacy brands is waning, it may still hold value for direct-to-consumer or performance-driven brands.
The advertising landscape on X is undeniably shifting. With overall ad revenue shrinking by nearly 35% over three years, and the majority of top global brands scaling back their investments, X faces an uphill battle to regain advertiser trust and stabilize its revenue streams.
While new and emerging advertisers offer some hope, the platform's long-term viability as a top-tier advertising destination remains in question. To reverse the trend, X will need not only to attract fresh advertisers but also to rebuild relationships with the marquee brands that once formed the backbone of its ad business.