- Instagram generates $32.4 billion in ad revenue in 2021.
- The platform’s efficient revenue model contributes to rapid growth since 2012.
- Court documents reveal Instagram’s exponential rise.
Instagram has proven to be a massive player in the world of social media and advertising, as revealed by a new court filing.
The photo and video app generated an astonishing $32.4 billion in ad revenue in 2021, accounting for 27% of Meta’s overall revenue. This impressive figure surpasses Google’s YouTube, which generated $28.8 billion in ad revenue that same year.
Efficient revenue generation
Unlike YouTube, which shares 55% of its ad revenue with content owners, Instagram and most other social apps spend significantly less, expecting users to provide photos and videos for free.
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This efficient revenue generation model has contributed to Instagram’s rapid growth since Meta (then Facebook) acquired the platform for $1 billion in 2012, when it was a revenue-free photo-sharing startup with a handful of employees.
Exponential growth under Meta’s ownership
The court documents showcase Instagram’s exponential growth under Meta’s ownership, with advertising revenues skyrocketing from $11.3 billion in 2018 to $32.4 billion in 2021, and reaching $16.5 billion in the first half of 2022 alone.
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Now run by former Facebook product executive Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s impressive performance suggests that the platform could be worth around $440 billion, based on its estimated contribution to Meta’s overall revenue and the company’s current market capitalization of $1.34 trillion.