The US continues to be the world’s largest advertising market, with the most significant expansion in its investment going outside of its borders, a study by EMARKETER explains.
The United States will account for 40.7% of total global media ad spending in 2026, consolidating itself as the largest advertising market on the planet. The study notes that, while the US and China remain the two leading countries in regards to ad spending, neither will see particularly outstanding growth this year. On the contrary, global market momentum will come from other countries and regions, reflecting a shift in the distribution of industry growth.
Altogether, EMARKETER expects global advertising investment to reach US $1.17 trillion in 2026, driven by sustained growth in digital advertising and a favorable performance by traditional media this year.
The study suggests that Meta will become the company with the highest net revenue from digital advertising worldwide and that international growth will move toward the new emerging economies.
In other words, although the United States will remain the world’s largest advertising market, investment growth during 2026 will be more dynamic in other markets, reflecting an increasingly diversified expansion of the global advertising landscape.
