YouTube Shatters Records as Annual Revenue Tops $60 Billion
“Pure Gold”: YouTube Shatters Records as Annual Revenue Tops $60 Billion
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — The king of video has a new crown. In a landmark financial disclosure that has sent shockwaves through the media industry, Alphabet Inc. revealed that YouTube generated a staggering $60.4 billion (£44.38 billion GBP) in total revenue for the 2025 fiscal year.
The announcement, made during Alphabet’s Q4 earnings call last Wednesday, marks the first time the tech giant has publicly broken out YouTube’s "standalone" annual figure, combining its massive advertising machine with its rapidly surging subscription business.
Surpassing the Streaming Giants
The $60 billion milestone officially vaults YouTube past longtime rival Netflix, which reported $45.18 billion in revenue for the same period. While Netflix remains the leader in premium scripted content, YouTube’s "hybrid" model—monetizing both casual viewers through ads and superfans through paid tiers—has proven to be a more lucrative engine.
Among major entertainment entities, only Disney ($95.7 billion) reported higher annual earnings, though analysts note that YouTube’s profit margins are significantly higher due to its reliance on user-generated content.
The Rise of the "Paid" Viewer
While advertising remains the bedrock of the platform, the real story of 2025 was the explosion of YouTube Premium and YouTube TV.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed that the company now boasts over 325 million paid subscriptions across its consumer services. A significant portion of this growth is attributed to:
-
NFL Sunday Ticket: The package reached its highest-ever subscriber total in 2025.
-
YouTube Music & Premium: Adoption soared as the platform introduced exclusive AI-driven features and background play capabilities.
-
YouTube Shorts: Now averaging 200 billion daily views, Shorts has become a primary funnel for converting "doom-scrollers" into long-term subscribers.
An AI-Powered Future
The financial triumph comes as YouTube pivots heavily toward artificial intelligence. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan shared in a recent letter that more than one million channels utilized the platform’s "Gemini-powered" AI tools daily in December 2025 to assist with editing, dubbing, and thumbnail generation.
“We’re seeing our AI investments drive growth across the board,” Pichai told investors. “Search is seeing more usage than ever, and YouTube has become almost infrastructural for the digital generation.”
The 2026 Forecast
Despite the record-breaking year, Alphabet isn't resting on its laurels. The company has forecast a massive increase in capital expenditure for 2026 between $175 billion and $185 billion—with a primary focus on AI infrastructure.
For the advertising sector, the "YouTube Effect" is undeniable. Even with a slight dip in political ad spend following the 2024 election cycle, YouTube’s Q4 ad revenue still grew nearly 9% to $11.38 billion.
As YouTube enters 2026, it is no longer just a "video-sharing site." It is a fully integrated media ecosystem that commands the attention—and the wallets—of the world.
