Google and Meta landed slightly below expectations in Q3, allowing a collection of hungry competitors to inch ahead. Meta’s user growth got a glimpse of the ceiling, while competitors and regulators chipped away at Google’s dominance.

However, the ad industry remains healthy. Spending is growing steadily across all tracked sectors. Sports events drove streaming and CTV to record gains, and retail media continues to be the sector’s fastest-growing ad channel.

In part due to this earnings season, we took our 2024 US search ad spending forecast from 11.1% to 14.5% growth as AI-integrated search rolled out faster than expected. Our 2024 US retail media forecast dropped from 26% to 20.4% due to total growth overexpectations from channel leaders. Meanwhile, earnings in 2024 for social network companies have been stronger than expected, shifting our social network forecast ad spending forecast from 16.0% growth in Q1 to 19.3% growth in our November update. Our forecast called for overall digital ad spending to rise in 12.6% for the year; our November update revised this figure upwards to 15.0%.

Key Question: Which digital ad channels did advertisers rely on most in Q3 and why?