Big advertisers’ ad-to-sales ratio fell to 5.5%. Tech firms cut the most

The 25 largest US advertisers now put a smaller share of their revenue into advertising than before the pandemic. WARC Media’s new Global Ad Trends report puts their combined ad-to-sales ratio at 5.5% in 2025, down from 6.1% in 2019. Their ad budgets grew 56% over that time, but revenue grew 73%.

Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and Netflix cut their ratio almost in half

The biggest drop came from four tech companies. Their combined ratio fell from 13% to 7.4% between 2019 and 2025, while revenue rose 146% to $931bn. WARC calculates that at the 2019 ratio they would have spent $121bn on ads in 2025. That is $52bn more than they did. WARC’s explanation: these firms already own huge audiences, so they need to buy less attention from others.

Nike, L’Oréal and P&G spend more per dollar of sales

Consumer goods owners went the other way. Six companies, including Coca-Cola, Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, Nike, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble, raised ad spend by 36% while revenue grew 29%. Five of the six raised their ratio; PepsiCo stayed roughly flat. WARC links part of this to the growth of retail media. Money once booked as trade promotion with retailers is now counted as advertising, which makes ad spend look higher.

Among the other 15 advertisers, ten lowered their ratio. Ford fell from 2.3% to 1.6% and General Motors from 2.7% to 1.7%. Walmart, Starbucks and Expedia went up. Amazon was roughly unchanged.

WARC sees UK ad intensity rise on social media

The report also looks at whole markets. In the UK, ad spend as a share of company sales rose from 2.9% to 3.3% between 2023 and 2025. In the US it rose from 2.1% to 2.2%. WARC says social media accounts for all of both increases.

Overall, the market keeps growing. WARC expects global ad spend to rise 11.9% this year to $1.34tn. Alex Brownsell, head of content at WARC Media, told Inside Radio “we are operating in a two-speed marketplace”. Small firms and cross-border online sellers are raising budgets much faster than big brands. The UK picture fits the latest IPA Bellwether survey, which showed budgets growing at the fastest rate since 2024.

WARC’s figures point to who gains and who loses. Digital platforms gain, because small businesses and cross-border sellers buy most of their ads there. Agencies that depend on a handful of big brand owners lose ground, a point Brownsell makes directly. That pressure sits behind the latest third-quarter agency results.