Whether X’s ad business has recovered to pre-Elon Musk ownership levels has been one of those questions that’s somehow managed to be both endlessly debated and entirely unresolved for three years running. Turns out, the answer is yes — partly. The big spending advertisers who scattered when the controversial billionaire walked in are back. Data confirms it.
The largest ad categories on X by U.S. ad spend in 2026 so far are media and entertainment, (24%), shopping (13%), software (12%), financial services (11%) and gaming (8%), according to data from Sensor Tower. And while the company wouldn’t share specific figures, Sensor Tower did note that these verticals are each spending at the “eight figure level” on the platform in the U.S.
Digging deeper, the top 10 advertisers on X by U.S. spend in 2026 so far are Comcast (372% y-o-y increase in spend), Amazon (8%), the NFL (166%), xAI (4,587%), Google (175%), Dell (127%), AT&T (226%), NBA (no change in spend), SpaceX (492%) and American Express (469%), per Sensor Tower, though the company declined to share specific ad spend figures. To compare, since the takeover, the advertiser profile shifted mostly to crypto, gambling and political-type brands.
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