Amazon’s advertising division saw a strong 24% growth in the first three months of the year, indicating a healthy bounce-back in the digital advertising industry. The company’s earnings from ads surged to $11.8 billion, up from $9.5 billion in the same period last year.
This exceeded analysts’ predictions of $11.7 billion, according to StreetAccount. This growth reflects a wider pattern where digital advertising firms such as Meta, Snap, and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, have reported better-than-expected revenue increases, mainly because of their advertising ventures.
For instance, Meta’s revenue jumped by 27% in the first quarter, reaching $36.5 billion. Alphabet’s advertising revenue climbed to $61.66 billion, a 13% rise from the previous year, and Snap’s revenue grew by 21%, reaching $1.19 billion.
Amazon’s ad revenue soared mainly because Prime Video started showing commercials in various countries. CEO Andy Jassy pointed out that Amazon’s Stores and Prime Video were big factors in the ad unit’s success.
Prime Video, which has over 200 million people watching each month, began showing ads in January, reaching about 115 million monthly viewers in the U.S. alone. It’s also showing ads in countries like the U.K., Germany, Austria, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, and Mexico.
Jassy also talked about how well the platform is doing with TV ads and its exclusive shows, like NFL “Thursday Night Football” games and the upcoming “Lord of the Rings” series.
Despite its ad success, Amazon got sued in February for false advertising and deceptive practices with Prime Video, claiming it showed ads unless customers paid an extra $2.99 a month. Amazon hasn’t said anything about the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, Amazon’s MGM Studios released 20 movies and series in the quarter. Some big hits were “Fallout,” watched by over 65 million people, and “Road House,” which got more than 50 million viewers in its first two weekends.
