AI Is Not the only Threat Menacing Big Tech

Why It Matters

The potential dip in ad revenue threatens the profitability of the world’s largest tech platforms, forcing strategic pivots and diversification. Understanding this risk is crucial for investors and policymakers monitoring tech sector stability.

Key Takeaways

• Digital ad revenue drives majority of big tech earnings.
• Past recessions spared ads; future downturn may differ.
• AI hype may distract from ad market vulnerabilities.
• Meta and Google face declining ad spend projections.
• Diversification needed to mitigate advertising cycle risk.

Pulse Analysis

The digital advertising ecosystem has become the financial backbone of the so‑called big‑tech giants. Meta, Google, and their peers generate more than half of their annual earnings from programmatic and display ads placed across social feeds, search results, and video platforms. This dominance emerged as advertisers migrated from traditional media to data‑driven channels, attracted by precise targeting and measurable ROI. As a result, ad spend has grown at double‑digit rates for over a decade, cementing the belief that these revenues are insulated from broader economic cycles. This reliance also amplifies exposure to macroeconomic cycles.

That insulation, however, is showing cracks. The 2008‑10 financial crisis and the COVID‑19 downturn left ad budgets largely intact because brands shifted spend to digital to reach locked‑down consumers. Analysts now argue that a future recession could be structurally different: marketers may cut discretionary spend, prioritize core brand messaging, and negotiate lower CPMs, eroding the premium that once made digital ads a safe harbor. Moreover, rising privacy regulations and the fragmentation of audiences across emerging platforms dilute the efficiency that once made digital ads a safe harbor.

Consequently, Meta and Google are under pressure to diversify beyond pure advertising. Investments in cloud services, subscription models, and AI‑powered enterprise tools are accelerating, aiming to create more stable, recurring revenue streams. For investors, the shift signals a reassessment of valuation models that previously assumed near‑constant ad growth. Policymakers, too, must monitor how a slowdown in ad spend could ripple through the broader digital economy, affecting publishers, app developers, and the labor market tied to online marketing.

AI is not the only threat menacing big tech

Are Meta and Google ads really recession‑proof?

Billboards in Times Square, New York – Photograph: Eyevine

Feb 2 2026 | San Francisco | 5 min read

The biggest worry in Silicon Valley is that the artificial‑intelligence boom [turns out to be a bubble]. Yet beneath the surface, another risk looms. Digital advertising, which accounts for a large and growing share of big tech’s revenues, is looking less recession‑proof. Having shrugged off the previous two downturns of their short history, in 2008‑10 and 2020, digital ads are likely to take a serious knock when the next one eventually hits.