YouTube Ad Revenue Reached $11.1 Billion in Q2

YouTube generated $11.055 billion from advertising in Alphabet's second quarter of 2026, up 13% from $9.796 billion a year earlier. The result covers the three months ended June 30 and appears in Alphabet's July 22 earnings release.

Alphabet placed that revenue beside YouTube's World Cup reach. More than 1.7 billion unique viewers globally watched World Cup-related videos during the full tournament, YouTube said, including more than 550 million who watched on televisions. The 1.7 billion figure covers related videos across YouTube, not live match viewers, and runs through the July 19 final, after the revenue quarter had closed.

The earnings release does not assign a dollar amount or growth rate to the tournament. On the call, Alphabet CFO Anat Ashkenazi said the company experienced strong World Cup-related ad growth, particularly in YouTube ads. She separately attributed YouTube's increase to direct-response and brand advertising, with strength in living-room viewing. Alphabet did not disclose how much of the $1.259 billion year-over-year increase came from World Cup campaigns.

Chief business officer Philipp Schindler said advertisers used FIFA channel takeovers, soccer-themed sponsorships powered by Gemini and game-day mastheads. He also highlighted custom sponsorships that use AI to select videos for a brand's chosen moment, creator shows built for sponsorship and Buy with Google Pay on connected TVs. Those products were discussed on the call and at YouTube's May Brandcast, rather than itemized in the earnings release.

Creators formed part of the tournament's distribution. YouTube said its World Cup creator roster had a combined 350 million subscribers, and videos from that group drew more than 2.5 billion views globally. FIFA's official YouTube channel recorded more than 4 billion views and added over 7.5 million subscribers between June 11 and July 19.

Alphabet's third-quarter results will cover the final 19 days of the World Cup that fell after June 30. The company has not said it will break out tournament revenue in that report, leaving the exact contribution of the event, creator campaigns and connected-TV formats undisclosed.