Founded: 1998
Headquarter: MOUNTAIN VIEW (US)
Employees: 180,000
2023 Revenues: $307.4 BN
Stock Exchange: GOOGL

"It took Google more than 15 years to reach $100 billion in annual revenue. In just the last six years, we’ve gone from $100 bil lion to more than $300 billion in annual revenue." In April, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai welcomed the group’s incredible revenue growth in a call with analysts. That success is due to one thing: advertising. In 2023, more than two thirds of Alphabet’s revenue ($206 billion) came from ads shown across all of the group’s sites, and in particular its search engine (Google), its video platform (YouTube) and its map service (Google Maps). With results like this, Google is by far the biggest advertising player, ahead of Meta (Facebook and Instagram). To maintain its position, Google is investing heavily in generative AI, which it is now incorporating into its search engine.

But some shareholders, concerned about huge spending on artificial intelligence, are starting to worry about the ROI, particularly after the failures experienced by Gemini, Google’s AI tool designed to rival ChatGPT. Following criticism, Pichai sought to reassure investors in July: "Our AI infrastructure and generative AI solutions for cloud customers have already generated billions in revenues and are being used by more than 2 million developers," he said in a call with analysts. And they seem to endorse that view, with the majority recommending buying shares, which have risen by over 25% year to date, but have fallen by 10% since the start of July (as at 20 August).

Founded: 1994
Headquarter: SEATTLE (US)
Employees: 1,520,000
2023 Revenues: $574.8 BN
Stock Exchange: AMZN

People used to know Amazon for its e-commerce site, its cloud business (AWS) and its streaming services (Prime Video). But over the last few years, the Seattle-based company has also become an advertiing giant – the third-largest in the sector after Alphabet and Meta. In 2023, Amazon’s ad revenue jumped by 27% on 2022 to $46.9 billion (equivalent to 8% of the company’s revenue), while at the same time, online sales rose just 9% and cloud revenue by 13%. It’s so profitable for Amazon that the company is constantly expanding its scope.

Originally, Amazon Ads – the company’s dedicated advertising subsidiary – only operated in the retail media sector, selling ad space on its e-commerce site. "Retail media is very effective and highly prized by advertisers because they can use extremely detailed behavioural data on customers’ purchases and, what’s more, those customers are already engaged in the buying process," explains Ludovic Labal, from Banque Eric Sturdza. "When someone goes onto Amazon to look for a screwdriver and they see an ad for one, it’s quite likely that they’ll buy it."

As well as sponsored products, Amazon has a whole range of advertising offerings available, including keyword sales, banner ads and videos. Its work in this area has inspired other sector players (Walmart, Deliveroo and Uber), which have now followed suit. On top of retail media, Amazon is also developing advertising on Twitch, its live-streaming platform, as well as on Prime Video, which first showed ads in early 2024 (which users can avoid by paying extra). It’s a development that puts Amazon in line with its competitors’ models: Netflix kicked off hostilities in November 2022, followed by Disney+ a year later. Most analysts recommend buying Amazon shares.

Founded: 1900
Headquarter: GENEVA (CH)
Employees: 500
2023 Revenues: CHF 328.7 M 
Stock Exchange: APGN

The leading player in the Swiss outdoor advertising market, APG|SGA has reported solid results, with 2023 revenue up 4.7% compared to the previous year. But far from settling for mere paper billboards, the company is innovating. In March 2024, for example, APG|SGA launched its in-house generative AI tool for creating ads, "APG|SGA easy", which is currently only available in German. Analysts are split on whether to buy or hold shares, which are up 8% year to date.

Founded: 2005
Headquarter: PARIS (FR)
Employees: 3,500
2023 Revenues: $1.95 BN 
Stock Exchange: CRTO

Google’s surprise announcement that it would not eliminate third-party cookies from its Chrome browser this summer wasn’t universally unwelcome – Criteo’s stock price jumped 10% in the wake of the news. It makes sense given that the French retargeting specialist’s platform uses cookies to improve targeting by advertisers. Most analysts recommend buying shares, which have shot up nearly 100% since January.

Founded: 1969
Headquarter: SAN FRANCISCO (US)
Employees: 3,400
2023 Revenues: $660 M
Stock Exchange: RAMP

Like Criteo, LiveRamp uses cookies to track web users’ clicks, better understand their behaviour and serve them more relevant ads. Most analysts recommend buying shares, which have lost 30% of their value since January.