Kamal Ghorui
YouTube has officially shared how much money it makes, and the number shows just how big the platform has become. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, revealed that YouTube generated more than $60 billion in total revenue in 2025. This includes money from advertising as well as paid subscriptions. It is the first time Alphabet has publicly broken out YouTube’s full revenue instead of only reporting its ad earnings.The figure puts YouTube ahead of Netflix, which reported $45.18 billion in revenue for 2025. Among major entertainment companies, only Disney earned more, with $95.7 billion. The disclosure highlights how YouTube has grown from a video-sharing site into one of the most powerful media businesses in the world.
YouTube’s revenue crosses $60 billion as ads and subscriptions grow
Alphabet’s earnings report shows that YouTube’s business now depends on more than just ads. CEO Sundar Pichai said Alphabet has over 325 million paid subscriptions across its consumer services, including YouTube Premium, YouTube TV, and Google One. These products have helped YouTube build steady income beyond traditional advertising.Advertising still plays a major role, though. In the fourth quarter of 2025 alone, YouTube earned $11.38 billion in global ad revenue, an increase of 8.7% compared to the same period last year. However, the number came in slightly below what analysts expected. Pichai explained that lower political ad spending compared to late 2024 affected brand advertising during the quarter.Viewer engagement on YouTube continues to rise. Pichai revealed that people watched more than 700 million hours of podcasts on YouTube through TVs in October 2025 alone. He also said the NFL reached its highest-ever paid subscriber total for the Sunday Ticket package offered on YouTube, though exact numbers were not shared.Alphabet also reported strong overall results, posting $113.8 billion in revenue and $34.5 billion in net income for the fourth quarter, both above expectations. Looking ahead, Pichai said the company plans to spend between $175 billion and $185 billion on AI-related capital investments in 2026.In a separate letter, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said more than one million channels used YouTube’s AI tools daily in December 2025. He also shared that YouTube Shorts now averages 200 billion daily views, with new features and cheaper YouTube TV plans expected this year.Together, these numbers show that YouTube is no longer just competing with streaming platforms like Netflix, it has firmly moved ahead as a global media and subscription powerhouse.
