For the first time, Alphabet, the parent company of YouTube, has released its full financial performance numbers, showing how it compares with other streaming and media platforms.

According to Variety, in 2025, YouTube generated more than $60 billion in revenue from advertising and subscriptions, surpassing Netflix’s $45.18 billion and trailing only slightly behind The Walt Disney Company’s $95.7 billion.

The disclosure arrives during a period of rapid consolidation across the streaming industry. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Netflix is pushing an aggressive expansion through its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal structured as an all-cash offer at $27.75 per share. If the deal is approved, it would add major film and television studios, including HBO and HBO Max, to Netflix’s portfolio.

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While the move signals Netflix’s ambition to deepen its content pipeline, YouTube’s latest numbers highlight a different strategy centered on scale, creator-driven programming, and diversified revenue streams.

Advertising remains a significant growth engine for YouTube, Variety further noted. The platform generated $11.38 billion in global ad revenue during the fourth quarter of 2025, an 8.7 percent year-over-year increase, though slightly below analyst expectations amid reduced political ad spending compared with the previous cycle. At the same time, Alphabet executives pointed to more than 325 million paid subscriptions across its consumer services, per the outlet, underscoring how recurring revenue continues to strengthen the company’s broader ecosystem.

Another factor contributing to YouTube’s momentum is its expanding content mix. Viewers logged more than 700 million hours of podcasts on TVs in October 2025, while the NFL Sunday Ticket package reached its highest paid-subscriber totals on the platform, reports Variety. YouTube Shorts, the company’s short-form video product, now averages 200 billion daily views, reinforcing YouTube’s dominance across both long-form and mobile-first consumption habits, per the outlet.

Alphabet is pairing that growth with heavy investment in artificial intelligence and infrastructure, projecting capital expenditures between $175 billion and $185 billion in 2026, Variety noted. New AI tools aimed at creators are expected to roll out alongside ongoing efforts to limit the spread of low-quality automated content.