Marketing Spend as a Percentage of Revenue: What 68 Brands Spend on Advertising

The figures come from each company’s latest annual report (10-K) to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, where most consumer companies disclose what they spent on advertising.

Use them to size a brand’s marketing before an interview, or to see what’s normal in a category. A company that spends 12% of revenue on advertising runs marketing very differently from one that spends 1%.

Advertising spend by company

Sorted by advertising as a share of revenue, highest first. Where a company has a teardown, its name links to it.

Notes: * Selling and marketing expense: the company reports no separate advertising line, and this one is broader. † Most of Wingstop's advertising is paid for by franchisees through its national advertising fund, which it books as revenue and spends as advertising, so its share isn't comparable with companies that sell directly. Source: SEC EDGAR, 10-K filings, fetched Oct 25, 2026.

Advertising spend by industry

Beauty and household brands spend the largest share of revenue on advertising, and retailers and restaurants the smallest.

Advertising expense as a share of revenue, latest fiscal year. Companies reporting only selling and marketing expense, and Wingstop, are left out. Source: SEC EDGAR, 10-K filings, fetched Oct 25, 2026.

Beauty and household goods lead because their products look alike on the shelf, so brand is much of what the shopper is choosing. Big retailers spend a small share because their revenue is so large and their stores and apps do much of the marketing. App companies vary the most: dating apps and online marketplaces spend heavily to win users, while Snap spends under 1%.

Who is spending more, and who is pulling back?

Companies whose advertising share of revenue moved by 2 points or more over the years shown. Source: SEC EDGAR, 10-K filings, fetched Oct 25, 2026.

A rising share can mean a brand is investing to win back growth (Nike’s ad spend went up while its revenue fell from fiscal 2024) or that revenue stalled while spend held. A falling share often means revenue grew faster than the budget, as at Duolingo, which says in its 10-K that it grows mainly through word of mouth, with paid user acquisition on top. Read the Duolingo teardown for how that works.

What these numbers do and don’t include

• Advertising expense is what the company spent on advertising, as it defines it in its accounting notes: usually media and the cost of making the ads.
• Marketing and advertising is a little broader. Nike’s line, which it calls demand creation, is brand marketing plus sports marketing, so athlete and team deals are in it.
• Selling and marketing (Apple, Coinbase) is much broader, with sales staff and commissions, so it overstates advertising. They’re marked * in the table.
• None of them is the full marketing budget. Marketing salaries, agency fees, research and price promotions are usually counted elsewhere.
• Revenue is the company’s own. For franchisors, that means royalties and fees, not what their restaurants sell. That’s why Wingstop’s figure (marked †) isn’t comparable with the rest.

How to use this in an interview

Knowing the size of the budget changes what you say. At a brand spending 10% of revenue, ask how the team decides between brand and performance spend, and how it measures the return. At one spending 1%, the questions are about owned channels, retail media and the app. Pair the figure with the brand’s share of search (our share of search guide shows how to work it out) and you can say whether the spend is buying attention.

Our company teardowns go further for ten brands: rivals, social and creators, paid ads and positioning.

FAQ

What percentage of revenue do companies spend on marketing?

Across the 65 consumer companies here that report advertising expense, the median spends 5.9% of revenue on advertising; the middle half spend between 3.8% and 9.8%. The full marketing budget is higher, because advertising leaves out marketing salaries, agencies and research.

What is the average marketing budget?

There’s no public figure for whole marketing budgets, but advertising is reported. Across the 65 consumer companies here that report advertising expense, the median spends 5.9% of revenue on advertising; the middle half spend between 3.8% and 9.8%. Salaries, agencies and research come on top. For the wider picture of marketing jobs and pay, see our marketing statistics.

Which company spends the most on advertising?

Of the companies here, Amazon reports the most advertising expense: $23.5 billion in fiscal 2025, 3.3% of its revenue. Next come Procter & Gamble ($10.2 billion), then Disney ($6.5 billion).

How much does Nike spend on advertising?

Nike reported $4.75 billion in marketing and advertising expense in fiscal 2026 (the year ended May 31, 2026), 10.2% of its $46.4 billion revenue, up from 7.9% in fiscal 2023. Source: its 10-K filing; the table of 68 companies compares it with other brands.

How much does Coca-Cola spend on advertising?

Coca-Cola reported $5.4 billion in advertising expense in fiscal 2025 (the year ended December 31, 2025), 11.3% of its $47.9 billion revenue, up from 9.3% in fiscal 2022. Source: its 10-K filing; the table of 68 companies compares it with other brands.

How much does Apple spend on advertising?

Apple reported $19.5 billion in selling and marketing expense (it reports no separate advertising line) in fiscal 2025 (the year ended September 27, 2025), 4.7% of its $416.2 billion revenue, down from 4.8% in fiscal 2023. Source: its 10-K filing; the table of 68 companies compares it with other brands.

How much does Amazon spend on advertising?

Amazon reported $23.5 billion in advertising expense in fiscal 2025 (the year ended December 31, 2025), 3.3% of its $716.9 billion revenue, down from 4.0% in fiscal 2022. Source: its 10-K filing; the table of 68 companies compares it with other brands.

How much does Verizon spend on advertising?

Verizon reported $3.83 billion in advertising expense in fiscal 2025 (the year ended December 31, 2025), 2.8% of its $138.2 billion revenue, up from 2.6% in fiscal 2022. Source: its 10-K filing; the table of 68 companies compares it with other brands.

How much does AT&T spend on advertising?

AT&T reported $3.1 billion in advertising expense in fiscal 2025 (the year ended December 31, 2025), 2.5% of its $125.6 billion revenue, up from 2.0% in fiscal 2022. Source: its 10-K filing; the table of 68 companies compares it with other brands.

How much does T-Mobile spend on advertising?

T-Mobile reported $3.7 billion in advertising expense in fiscal 2025 (the year ended December 31, 2025), 4.2% of its $88.3 billion revenue, up from 2.9% in fiscal 2022. Source: its 10-K filing; the table of 68 companies compares it with other brands.

How much does PepsiCo spend on advertising?

PepsiCo reported $3.4 billion in advertising expense in fiscal 2025 (the year ended December 27, 2025), 3.6% of its $93.9 billion revenue, down from 4.1% in fiscal 2022. Source: its 10-K filing; the table of 68 companies compares it with other brands.

How much does Walmart spend on advertising?

Walmart reported $5.4 billion in advertising expense in fiscal 2026 (the year ended January 31, 2026), 0.8% of its $706.4 billion revenue, up from 0.7% in fiscal 2023. Source: its 10-K filing; the table of 68 companies compares it with other brands.

Where does this data come from?

Each company’s 10-K, read from the SEC’s EDGAR database in the structured (XBRL) form companies file with it. We take the narrowest advertising line a company reports and the revenue for the same fiscal year. Companies that report no advertising line are left out rather than estimated, which is why some big advertisers (McDonald’s, Costco, Estée Lauder) are missing.