Wall Street predictions too optimistic? Google, Snap record poor digital ad growth figures

Wall Street had some pretty optimistic growth forecasts. However, weak results from Google, Snap and other big sellers of online ads are rising concerns among investors.

Google dominates the the digital advertising sector, valued at $270 billion. The tech giant recently reported 8.9 percent growth in ad revenue in the fourth quarter. This was not up to expectations at Wall Street. Snap too banks heavily on advertising revenue. The social media company too reported disappointing figures in the recent quarter.

This has led to speculations that Wall Street’s prediction of 14 percent increase in digital advertising in 2024 might just have been too optimistic.

Alphabet too witnessed its largest daily stumble since October last year, resulting in disappointing ad revenue figures for this quarter.

Alphabet's search and video juggernauts Google and YouTube faced competition for ad budgets from other online platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Amazon.

The company recorded ad revenue of $65.52 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $59.04 billion a year earlier. Analysts on average expected ad revenue of $66.06 billion, as per the report.

Revenue for the quarter ended Dec 31 stood at $86.31 billion, compared with estimates of $85.33 billion, according to LSEG data.