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Instagram Reaches 3 Billion Monthly Active Users, Zuckerberg Says

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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Wednesday that Instagram has grown to 3 billion monthly active users, cementing its status as one of the world’s most widely used social media platforms.

The last time Meta disclosed Instagram’s user numbers was in 2022, when the app surpassed 2 billion monthly users.

Meta, then known as Facebook, acquired Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion—a deal that was initially met with skepticism since the app was focused mainly on photo sharing and generated little revenue. Since then, Instagram has become a central part of Meta’s business, with analysts estimating it could contribute over half of the company’s U.S. ad revenue this year.

A key driver of Instagram’s rapid growth has been Reels, the short-form video feature launched in 2020, which directly competes with TikTok and YouTube Shorts.

TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, reported earlier this month that it has more than 1 billion monthly users worldwide, underscoring the intense competition in the short-video market.

Snap Reports Slowest Revenue Growth in Over a Year as Ad Platform Glitch and Competition Weigh

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Snap Inc. (SNAP.N), the parent company of Snapchat, reported on Tuesday its slowest quarterly revenue growth in more than a year, affected by a temporary glitch in its advertising platform and strong competition from larger rivals such as Meta and TikTok. The news sent Snap shares down over 16% in extended trading.

The company acknowledged and resolved an error that unintentionally allowed some ads to run at significantly lower prices, which negatively impacted revenue. Snap faces intense competition from Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok, with advertisers favoring the bigger platforms amid tighter marketing budgets due to economic uncertainty. Meta and Reddit recently reported strong second-quarter results, highlighting Snap’s tougher market environment.

In addition, the timing of Ramadan influenced advertising spend patterns, and the expiration of a U.S. duty-free import exemption (“de minimis”) led some Chinese advertisers to reduce their budgets on the platform.

Snap’s second-quarter revenue was $1.34 billion, up 8.7% year-over-year, largely in line with expectations but slower than the double-digit growth seen in the previous five quarters. The company’s net loss widened to $263 million from $249 million a year earlier.

Small and medium-sized businesses were the primary drivers of ad revenue growth. Snap’s subscription service, Snapchat+, continues to diversify revenue, with subscriber numbers rising 42% to nearly 16 million during the quarter. Daily active users increased 9% to 469 million, slightly above estimates.

Snap projects third-quarter revenue between $1.48 billion and $1.51 billion, matching analyst expectations.

WPP Media Lowers 2025 Global Ad Revenue Growth Forecast to 6% Amid US Trade Uncertainty

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WPP Media on Monday revised down its forecast for global advertising revenue growth in 2025 to 6%, from an earlier estimate of 7.7%, citing increased uncertainty over U.S. trade policies. Advertisers appear to be delaying new marketing commitments amid shifting trade dynamics, the report by WPP’s media investment division revealed.

Digital advertising remains a key revenue driver for major tech firms including Google (Alphabet), Meta Platforms, Pinterest, Reddit, and Snap. The report highlighted how economic uncertainty is accelerating the adoption of AI tools for ad creation and targeting. Meta, for instance, plans to enable brands to fully create and target ads using AI tools by the end of 2026.

Research from Emarketer also suggests companies reliant on traditional keyword-based search ads may face revenue declines due to the rise of AI-driven search advertising.

WPP Media projects global advertising revenue will reach $1.08 trillion in 2025, with growth moderating to 6.1% in 2026. Digital advertising is expected to represent 73.2% of total ad revenue this year. Notably, user-generated content is forecasted to generate more ad revenue than professionally produced content in 2025.

The report anticipates print advertising revenue will decline by 3.1% to $45.5 billion in 2025, while search ad revenue is forecast to grow by 7.3%.

WPP Media also noted shifting brand strategies, including prioritizing flexible ad contracts, reallocating budgets toward direct-to-consumer media placements, and emphasizing secure data handling amidst economic uncertainty.

The U.S. remains the largest advertising market, with an expected growth of 5.6% to $404.7 billion, followed by China and the UK.