Alphabet-owned YouTube reported Q4 ad revenue of $11.38 billion, up 9% from the prior year but below analysts’ $11.84 billion estimate, with full-year revenue reaching $60 billion, a 17% increase, driven by subscriptions now at 325 million paying users across Google One and YouTube Premium.
YouTube disclosed on Wednesday that the number of paying users for Google One, its cloud storage service, and YouTube Premium, its ad-free video streaming service, totals 325 million. This figure reflects growth from 300 million users reported three months earlier. Subscription revenue contributed alongside advertising to the overall financial performance.
The $11.38 billion in Q4 ad revenue underscores continued monetization efforts despite missing Wall Street expectations set at an average of $11.84 billion. For the entire fiscal year, YouTube generated $60 billion in total revenue from advertisements and subscriptions, compared to the previous year’s amount.
YouTube’s $8-per-month ad-free Premium tier registers strong traction among subscribers seeking uninterrupted viewing. YouTube Premium as a whole experienced strong growth during the period.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai outlined plans to expand subscription offerings, with particular focus on the expanding YouTube TV user base. He stated, “We’ll soon launch new YouTube TV plans, bringing more choice and flexibility to subscribers with over 10 genre-specific packages.”
YouTube Shorts achieved 200 billion average daily views in the fourth quarter, matching the volume from the previous year. In certain countries, advertising revenue from short-form videos exceeds that of in-stream ads when measured on a per-hour basis.
Sundar Pichai identified podcasts as an emerging format on the platform. Viewers consumed 700 million hours of podcasts via televisions in October.
YouTube’s artificial intelligence features demonstrate strong adoption, with more than 1 million channels utilizing its AI creation tools. Additionally, 20 million consumers accessed the Gemini-powered content discovery tool in December.
