X’s Ad Business Flourished Under Departing CEO Linda Yaccarino, But Challenges Persist

While Linda Yaccarino’s tenure at X—formerly Twitter—was brief at just two years, her impact on the company’s advertising strategies was significant, as shown by recent data from Guideline, an ad intelligence agency. She leaves X with its advertising partnerships notably enhanced.

In the United States, advertising spending increased by 62% year-over-year in the first half of 2025, as per Guideline’s findings. Yaccarino also highlighted that by May 2025, 96% of advertisers on X had returned.

Restoring X’s advertising business was a time-consuming undertaking, and the company still faces ongoing hurdles.

Yaccarino’s departure could have profound implications for X’s profitability, given that the company remains heavily reliant on advertising revenue. The contributions from X Premium subscriptions account for only a small fraction of total earnings, and plans for the X Money payment service have yet to materialize.

After joining X in June 2023, Yaccarino brought nearly 12 years of experience from NBCUniversal, where she served as chairman for global advertising and partnerships. At that time, X was struggling with a dramatic drop in advertising revenue.

The initial cuts in ad spending were largely a response to Elon Musk’s acquisition in October 2022. Following workforce reductions—including essential Trust and Safety staff—advertisers grew wary due to an increase in misinformation and hate speech. Reuters reported that 14 out of the top 30 advertisers ceased all ad spending on the platform, while four dramatically cut their budgets by between 92% and 98.7% during that period.

Guideline’s analysis reveals that 89% of Twitter/X’s U.S. ad revenue was lost from Q3 2022 to Q3 2024. The decline actually began in Q2 2022, coinciding with news of Musk acquiring a 9.4% stake in the company, as the firm informed TechCrunch.

By early 2023, reports indicated that over 500 advertisers had left Twitter, resulting in a 35% revenue drop in the fourth quarter.

The New York Times reported that during the five weeks from April 1 to early May 2023, U.S. ad revenue had plummeted by 59% year-over-year, totaling $88 million. Weekly sales projections also fell by as much as 30%, prompting X to offer ad credits to lure advertisers back.

Nevertheless, Yaccarino seemed to be making strides behind the scenes.

A year after her appointment, internal recordings revealed that 65% of advertisers had returned, and in August 2023, Yaccarino announced that X’s operational run rate was approaching “break even.”

Unfortunately, the environment shifted again later that year amid an advertiser boycott.

In November 2023, prominent brands like Apple, Disney, and IBM halted their ad spending on X following Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic post. eMarketer projected a nearly 55% year-over-year downturn in global ad revenue for the platform, which this boycott threatened to exacerbate.

Yaccarino also faced challenges from Musk during her time in charge. He controversially suggested that exiting advertisers should “go f— yourself,” framing their departure as extortion. When this tactic failed, X resorted to legal action, alleging that the advertisers were engaged in an “illegal boycott.” This lawsuit was later broadened in early 2025 to encompass additional advertisers such as LEGO and Shell.

The threat of litigation proved effective—advertising resumed from companies like Verizon and Ralph Lauren after legal warnings, as reported by The Wall Street Journal in June 2025. Furthermore, the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) temporarily paused operations of its Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) nonprofit following the initiation of the lawsuit against it.

Data from Guideline shows that U.S. ad spending on X saw growth beginning in December 2024, marking the first rise since Musk’s acquisition. Spending surged by 37.7% from Q3 to Q4 2024, influenced by the upcoming U.S. presidential elections.

During Yaccarino’s leadership, X implemented initiatives for enhanced brand safety, working with adtech firms like DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science (IAS) to notify advertisers if their ads were placed alongside unsuitable content. They also offered tools for brands to selectively position their ads, with more affordable options for “relaxed” ad slots and premium costs for stricter safety concerns. Subsequently, X introduced capabilities for advertisers to align their ads with a curated group of content creators.

However, X still struggles with controversies regarding ad safety.

For example, this week, the site’s AI bot Grok malfunctioned and generated antisemitic remarks that led to its deactivation. Yaccarino’s decision to leave came before this incident, as reported by The New York Times.