In its new, quarterly series, WARC Media’s Earnings Debrief has found that Amazon was the standout performer during the last quarter, surpassing expectations by 5.5 percentage points. This compares to Google’s advertising performance which was more mixed. The Google Display Network declined by 1.6% in Q425 and 1.9% during 2025 as a whole, in both cases roughly one point behind forecast.
Meta delivered a more robust fourth quarter, supported by an accelerating use of AI across its ad targeting and measurement suite despite being 1.4 percentage points behind forecast. YouTube delivered the most significant underperformance versus WARC’s Q4 2025 benchmark, missing forecasts by 9.3 percentage points (pp).
Although advertising still represents less than 10% of Amazon’s total revenues, it now ranks as the world’s third-largest digital advertising platform globally. Further, Madison & Wall estimates that advertising contributed essentially all of the operating income generated by the company’s retail sector last year.
Retail media’s ability to link ads directly to purchases, supports premium pricing across Sponsored Products, Brands and Display. New WARC Media ad spend data – derived from monitoring by Walrus Intelligence – shows that some 81.5% of Amazon’s ad income (almost four fifths of growth) is derived onsite, though this is down slightly from the previous year.
The rollout of advertising across Prime Video has further strengthened Amazon’s full funnel proposition, adding high value, scaled and targeted inventory. Prime Video now reaches an estimated 315 million monthly ad-supported viewers globally (compared to Netflix’s 190 million), significantly expandingAmazon’s video CPM opportunity.
Amazon’s rapid deployment of AI-driven campaign tools and predictive targeting further strengthens its ability to tie ad spend to measurable conversion across its ecosystem.
Overall, Q4 2025 highlighted a market increasingly rewarding platforms that combine scale, data and demonstrable outcomes – a dynamic that continues to favour Amazon, even as others recalibrate their growth stories
