US Digital Ad Q2’26 Preview: Analyzing the Industry Debates & Framing the Operating Environment

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US Digital Ad Q2’26 Preview: Analyzing the Industry Debates & Framing the Operating Environment

Equity Research

7 July 2026 | 11:03PM EDT

AMERICAS TECHNOLOGY: INTERNET

US Digital Ad Q2’26 Preview: Analyzing the Industry Debates & Framing

the Operating Environment

Ahead of Q2 2026 earnings, we frame the current operating environment and key Eric Sheridan

+1(917)343-8683 |

investor debates for the digital advertising sub-sector. Key highlights (based on our eric.sheridan@gs.com

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

industry work/channel checks and company conversations) include:

Alex Vegliante, CFA

+1(212)934-1878 |

n Dynamic month-to-month performance across Q2 with early quarter trends alex.vegliante@gs.com

(late April & through May) being more muted but with a renewed positive bent to

Aarshiya Sachdeva

ad spend in June (especially for key industry verticals such as commerce and +1(212)855-6184 |

aarshiya.sachdeva@gs.com

travel). This level of month-to-month volatility was higher than typical, with Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

several potential drivers being cited in our industry conversations (consumer Emma Huang +1(212)902-7229 |

spending, oil prices, improving events calendar into summer, etc.) but no one emma.huang@gs.com Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

linear narrative emerging.

n Direct response (bottom of the funnel) advertising trends continued to be the

strongest driver of industry growth as more ad budgets continue to seek out

measurable and attributable returns on ad spend. More specifically, DR strength

was led by healthy auction dynamics, robust pricing per ad impression & stable

end demand trends across key verticals (consumer/retail, travel, gaming & the

app economy).

n In contrast, the overall brand advertising environment remains more muted