Observed Signal · Sep 28, 2023 · Earnings Report · Source: OnlineMarketing.de · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Positive
X Claims 90% Advertisers Returned
X CEO Linda Yaccarino asserted that 90% of the platform’s top advertisers had returned after Musk’s takeover. Independent data from Ebiquity, seen by Business Insider, suggests otherwise: in a survey of 70 top advertisers, only two respondents indicated advertising on X in the past month, with identities undisclosed. The 70 include Google, Walmart, and Vodafone; a year earlier, 31 of the 70 were active. Ruben Schreurs, Ebiquity’s Chief Strategy Officer, calls the finding a rare drop for a major platform and questions the reliability of public statements from Yaccarino and Musk. A spokesman for X declined to comment on Ebiquity’s data. Separately, X targets profitability in early 2024 and is expanding its subscription model, with two markets now requiring new users to pay a small annual fee for posting/reposting to curb bots.
Profitability outlook and advertiser rebound indicate significant impact on ad monetization and platform dynamics.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Ebiquity data shows only 2 of 70 top advertisers answered yes to advertising on X in the past month (identities not disclosed).
- The 70 advertisers surveyed include Google, Walmart, and Vodafone.
- A year earlier, 31 of the 70 advertisers were active on X.
- X CEO Linda Yaccarino claimed 90% of top advertisers had returned.
- X started a paid subscription in two markets requiring a small annual fee for posting/reposting to reduce bots; a spokesman declined to comment on Ebiquity’s data.
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X's Advertiser Base Resembles Pre‑Musk Era
Third‑party data from Sensor Tower indicates that many large advertisers that left X after Elon Musk’s takeover have returned in 2026, though spending patterns differ from the platform’s pre‑Musk era. The largest U.S. ad verticals on X so far in 2026 are media & entertainment (24%), shopping (13%), software (12%), financial services (11%) and gaming (8%); Sensor Tower says each vertical is spending at the “eight‑figure level” in the U.S. Top advertisers by U.S. spend include Comcast, Amazon, the NFL, xAI, Google, Dell, AT&T, NBA, SpaceX and American Express, with varying year‑over‑year changes. X’s S‑1 filing and third‑party analysts note the platform is still recovering — X reported a $595 million decline in ad revenue in 2024 — and advertisers are favoring event‑driven, tentpole moments over always‑on buys. X recently announced a major ad platform overhaul and is pitching AI and performance features to win back ad dollars.
X Offers $200K Incentive to Win Back Advertisers
A leaked X pitch deck viewed by ADWEEK shows the platform offering returning advertisers a “return-to-platform incentive” that would match 50% of added value for every dollar spent, capped at $200,000 per advertiser. The deck — presented to an ad agency with clients that had paused X advertising — repeats a similar structure X used with Omnicom and also referenced media-credit promotions. X emphasized brand-safety credentials and promoted Grok, the xAI chatbot, as a core brand-safety tool, claiming Grok reviews posts for brand suitability. The slides cited internal and third-party performance claims (GWI and X internal data) showing large lifts in ad engagement and conversion, while the article notes X’s ad revenues dropped after Elon Musk’s 2022 takeover and that recent Grok-related deepfake incidents have triggered investigations and lawsuits.
X Pitches AI-Driven Performance to Win Ad Dollars
X is pitching advertisers on a familiar equation: scale plus AI equals performance, as it attempts to recover advertising spend after years of advertiser departures and product relaunches. The article notes the platform’s controversial acquisition by Elon Musk in 2022, its rebrand from Twitter to X, and the high-profile hire — and subsequent departure — of Linda Yaccarino as CEO after two years. Digiday reports that X continues to relaunch ad products and lean on AI capabilities to persuade brands to return, but whether that converts into ad spend remains uncertain.
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