Meta's European Ad Revenue Slows as Less-Personalized Ads Option Takes Hold
In the third quarter that ended in September, Meta's advertising revenue growth in Europe slowed to 18 percent compared to the previous year. This is a drop from earlier figures and is quite a bit lower than the 33 percent growth reported in the US and Canada. CFO Susan Li raised issues about the Less-Personalized Ads (LPA) model adopted in Europe after Meta faced a €200 million fine for breaching the Digital Markets Act. Additionally, European ad growth fell from 40 percent to 24 percent, whereas the US and Canada saw a slight rise from 30 percent to 31 percent. Li also mentioned the possibility of improving ad conversions using AI, with investor interest in Muse, Meta's AI agent, potentially opening up new advertising opportunities.
Key facts
- European ad revenue grew 18 percent year-on-year in the three months through September, versus 33 percent in the US and Canada
- European ad growth fell from about 40 percent to 24 percent over the preceding two quarters
- Meta launched Less-Personalized Ads for Instagram and Facebook in Europe at the beginning of 2024
- EU regulators fined Meta €200 million over Digital Markets Act breaches tied to personal data choice
- LPA uses 90 percent less data than personalized ads, per Meta
- CFO Susan Li warned in July about the LPA impact as an additional headwind
- Meta does not disclose how many users chose each ad option
- Muse, Meta's personal AI agent, launched last month and dominated investor questions
Entities
Artists
- Susan Li
- Dominic Ball
Institutions
- Meta
- European Commission
- Rothschild & Co Redburn
- WIRED
Locations
- Europe
- United States
- Canada
- EU