President Donald Trump’s tariffs are already warping the outlook for ad spending, casting a long, uncertain shadow over the year ahead. The full impact remains to be seen — especially since he delayed most tariffs for another 90 days — but early projections point to a market that’s already bracing for impact.
Magna’s latest forecast paints the picture: the digital heavyweights — Google, Meta, Amazon and others — collectively brought in $271 billion in U.S. ad revenue last year. These so-called “digital pure players”, spanning search retail media, social, video and audio are now projected to grow by 9.1% in 2025. That’s a subtle but telling dip from the previously expected 9.9%.
Social media, often the bellwether for digital ad health, is especially losing pace. The sector brought in $83 billion last year and is not forecast to grow by 10.7% down from 11.5% — an early sign of advertisers finishing in an uncertain climate.
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