X Advertising Sales is expected to grow for the first time since Musk’s acquisition

Elon Musk’s X has been paced in the first year of advertising revenue growth since the billionaire acquired the company in 2022, according to research firm Emarketer. This is because advertisers respond to mask power in the Donald Trump administration.

According to Emarketer, the former Twitter social network is projected to generate $1.31 billion in US advertising sales in 2025. Globally, X’s ad sales are estimated at $2.26 billion this year, up 16.5%.

Advertisers who protested X’s harmful content mitigation standards are back now that Musk has become a senior adviser to President Donald Trump, according to Emarketer principal analyst Jasmine Enberg.

“Part of the growth in spending is really driven by fear, as we saw some of the larger advertisers come back to get a favor with the Trump administration,” she said. She added that it’s too early to call it “rebound.” Because it is not necessarily related to improving the company’s products or services.

Despite the expected increase in spending, X’s business remains far less than when Musk acquired social networks in the second half of 2022 for $44 billion.

As a private company, X did not disclose financial information and the spokesman did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

X’s advertising business, which accounts for a large portion of its total revenue, became a huge hit after Musk acquired the company, pledging to bring more “free speech” to its services by eliminating some rules and content policies and reducing the site’s police force team. Many advertisers either suspend their spending or left for altogether, fearing that their promoted messages would appear with offensive content.

Currently, Meta Platforms Inc.’s major competitors and other networks, including Instagram, follow Musk in eliminating certain speech rules. This sets a new baseline for the industry.

“It’s more recognised that even if it’s not accepted, it’s inevitable,” Enberg said.

Enberg also pointed out that some marketers may feel they need to spend on X to avoid legal disputes with Musk, who has begun to sue major advertisers who have not spent money on the service.

“Now, some people see spending on X as the cost of doing business,” she added. Bloomberg previously reported that some advertisers are back to X due to the looming threat of the lawsuit.

X’s bump into the advertising business and Musk’s new role in the Trump administration helped the company elsewhere this year. The bank, which held debts from Musk’s X-Buyout for years, was able to offload the money this year without losing money. The company also raised more money from outside investors this year with a rating close to the initial purchase price of the mask.

Still, Emarketer doesn’t expect X’s advertising business, so he’ll soon return to his pre-twist form. The company’s 2027 global advertising revenue estimate was only $2.6 billion, 42% of the company’s operations in 2021.

2025 Bloomberg News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.