X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, is poised to experience its first annual growth in advertising revenue since Musk’s acquisition of the company in 2022, according to data released by the research firm Emarketer.

Brands are returning to X as Musk’s influence continues to grow, particularly through his role within the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency. Emarketer projects that X’s U.S. advertising revenue will increase by 17.5%, reaching $1.31 billion in 2025, while global ad revenue is expected to rise by 16.5%, amounting to $2.26 billion.

Jasmine Enberg, a principal analyst at Emarketer, noted that some of this growth is attributed to caution, as many advertisers may see spending on X as a means of mitigating potential legal or financial risks. She further highlighted that X has managed to attract small and medium-sized businesses, a market it had previously struggled to engage. Meanwhile, competitors such as Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms, and TikTok, are vying for a larger share of the advertising market, which may be influenced by U.S. tariffs and broader economic uncertainty. MoffettNathanson recently revised its U.S. advertising growth forecast down from over 6.9% to 5.8%, citing the impact of policy changes under the current administration.

Despite the projected growth, Emarketer’s data indicates that X’s advertising business remains smaller than it was at the time of Musk’s acquisition of the company for $44 billion in late 2022. As a private entity, X does not disclose its financial figures. However, when it was publicly traded in 2021, the company reported ad revenue of $4.51 billion. In 2023, X appointed Linda Yaccarino, the former advertising chief of NBCUniversal, as its CEO.