Outbrain Inc. (OB): Análise de Pestle [Jan-2025 Atualizado]

No cenário em constante evolução da publicidade digital, a Outbrain Inc. fica na encruzilhada de inovação e complexidade, navegando em um ecossistema multifacetado de ruptura tecnológica, desafios regulatórios e dinâmica de mercado. Essa análise abrangente de pestles investiga profundamente os fatores complexos que moldam o posicionamento estratégico do Outbrain, revelando um retrato diferenciado de uma plataforma de recomendação de conteúdo lutando com transformações globais sem precedentes em mídia, tecnologia e envolvimento do consumidor. Desde a intrincada rede de regulamentos internacionais de privacidade de dados até os desenvolvimentos de ponta na inteligência artificial, a jornada do cérebro reflete os profundos desafios e oportunidades que enfrentam empresas de publicidade digital modernas.

Outbrain Inc. (OB) - Análise de Pestle: Fatores Políticos

Regulamentos de publicidade digital dos EUA impactam plataformas de recomendação de conteúdo

A Comissão Federal de Comércio (FTC) relatou US $ 181,5 milhões em ações de aplicação de publicidade digital Em 2023, afetando diretamente plataformas de recomendação de conteúdo como o Outbrain.

Regulamento	Custo de conformidade	Impacto potencial
Lei de Transparência de Publicidade Digital	US $ 2,3 milhões por empresa	Requisitos de divulgação aumentados
Emendas de proteção à privacidade do consumidor	Custo de implementação de US $ 1,7 milhão	Restrições mais rigorosas de uso de dados

Potencial escrutínio antitruste de empresas de tecnologia de anúncios

O Departamento de Justiça investigou 17 empresas de tecnologia de publicidade em 2023 Para manipulação potencial de mercado.

• Orçamento de investigação antitruste: US $ 42,3 milhões
• Custo médio de conformidade legal para empresas de tecnologia de anúncios: US $ 3,6 milhões
• Faixa fina potencial: US $ 10 a US $ 250 milhões

Leis internacionais de privacidade de dados

Jurisdição	Estrutura regulatória	Custo de conformidade
União Europeia (GDPR)	Regulamentos estritos de proteção de dados	Pena média de 4,2 milhões de euros
Califórnia (CCPA)	Lei de Privacidade de Dados do Consumidor	Custo de implementação de US $ 1,8 milhão
China	Lei de Proteção de Informações Pessoais	¥ 10 milhões de multa potencial

Tensões geopolíticas nos mercados de mídia digital

Interrupções no mercado de publicidade digital global estimadas em US $ 3,7 bilhões em 2023 devido a conflitos geopolíticos.

• Restrições comerciais de tecnologia US-China Impacto: US $ 1,2 bilhão
• Alterações regulatórias do mercado digital europeu: 2,5 bilhões de euros
• Volatilidade do mercado de publicidade digital do Oriente Médio: US $ 450 milhões

Outbrain Inc. (OB) - Análise de Pestle: Fatores Econômicos

Volatilidade econômica do setor de tecnologia de publicidade

O mercado global de publicidade digital se projetou para atingir US $ 786,21 bilhões em 2024, com um CAGR de 9,4% de 2022 a 2027. O segmento de mercado da Outbrain experimentando flutuações econômicas significativas.

Indicador econômico	2024 Valor	Mudança de ano a ano
Gastos com anúncios digitais	US $ 786,21 bilhões	+9.4%
Mercado de Recomendação de Conteúdo	US $ 12,4 bilhões	+7.2%
Receita de publicidade nativa	US $ 94,2 bilhões	+11.3%

Turnos de gastos com anúncios digitais

A incerteza econômica impulsiona mudanças estratégicas na alocação de publicidade digital. Canais móveis e programáticos experimentando maior investimento.

Canal de anúncios	2024 gastos	Porcentagem do orçamento total de anúncios digitais
Publicidade móvel	US $ 288,3 bilhões	36.7%
Publicidade programática	US $ 207,5 bilhões	26.4%
Publicidade nativa	US $ 94,2 bilhões	12%

Cenário competitivo

Principais concorrentes no mercado de recomendação de conteúdo:

• Taboola: US $ 456,7 milhões de receita em 2023
• RevContent: Receita de US $ 142,3 milhões em 2023
• Outbrain: Receita de US $ 392,6 milhões em 2023

Impacto de desaceleração econômica global

Restrições de orçamento de marketing que afetam as plataformas de recomendação de conteúdo. Redução projetada nas despesas com publicidade em vários setores.

Setor da indústria	Redução do orçamento de marketing	Impacto esperado na recomendação de conteúdo
Tecnologia	-8.3%	Impacto negativo moderado
Varejo	-6.7%	Pressão de receita significativa
Serviços financeiros	-5.2%	Interrupção limitada

Outbrain Inc. (OB) - Análise de Pestle: Fatores sociais

Crescente conscientização do consumidor sobre conteúdo personalizado e privacidade de dados

De acordo com o Pew Research Center, 79% dos americanos estão preocupados com a forma como as empresas usam seus dados pessoais em 2023. A Pesquisa de Privacidade da Deloitte indica que 84% dos consumidores desejam mais controle sobre suas informações pessoais.

Métrica de preocupação com privacidade do consumidor	Percentagem
Preocupado com a coleta de dados	79%
Desejo mais controle de dados	84%
Confie em plataformas digitais	36%

Mudança de hábitos de consumo de mídia entre o público digital

A Emarketer relata que o consumo de mídia digital aumentou 15,4% em 2023, com dispositivos móveis representando 67% do tempo total de mídia digital.

Métrica de consumo de mídia	Valor
Crescimento de consumo de mídia digital	15.4%
Consumo de mídia de dispositivo móvel	67%
Tempo médio de mídia digital diária	7,4 horas

Crescente demanda por recomendação de conteúdo ético e transparente

O relatório de confiança de 2023 da Nielsen revela que 73% dos consumidores preferem plataformas com algoritmos de recomendação de conteúdo transparentes.

Transparência da recomendação de conteúdo	Percentagem
Consumidores valorizando a transparência algorítmica	73%
Disposto a mudar de plataformas para melhor transparência	62%

Tendências de comportamento do usuário de mídia social e plataforma digital

A Statista relata que os usuários globais de mídia social atingiram 4,9 bilhões em 2023, com uma média de 2,5 plataformas de mídia social usadas por pessoa.

Métrica de uso de mídia social	Valor
Usuários globais de mídia social	4,9 bilhões
Plataformas médias por usuário	2.5
Tempo diário de mídia social	2,5 horas

Outbrain Inc. (OB) - Análise de Pestle: Fatores tecnológicos

Inteligência artificial e aprendizado de máquina Aprimorando a recomendação de conteúdo

Processos de mecanismo de recomendação acionados pela AI do OUT-Brain 2,7 bilhões de recomendações de conteúdo diariamente. Os algoritmos de aprendizado de máquina da empresa analisam 580 milhões de perfis de usuário exclusivos para otimizar a personalização do conteúdo.

Métrica de tecnologia da IA	Desempenho atual
Recomendações diárias de conteúdo	2,7 bilhões
Perfis de usuário analisados	580 milhões
Precisão do aprendizado de máquina	87.3%

Desenvolvimento contínuo de tecnologias algorítmicas de segmentação e personalização

Outbrain investiu US $ 42,3 milhões em P&D durante 2023, concentrando -se em tecnologias avançadas de segmentação algorítmica. Os processos de mecanismo de personalização da empresa 3.5 Petabytes de dados de interação do usuário mensalmente.

Direcionando o investimento em tecnologia	2023 Métricas
Investimento em P&D	US $ 42,3 milhões
Processamento mensal de dados	3.5 Petabytes
Algoritmo de personalização iterações	127

Integração de análises de dados avançadas em plataformas de publicidade digital

Processos da plataforma de análise de dados do Outbrain 4,2 milhões de campanhas de publicidade mensalmente, com uma precisão de licitação em tempo real de 92.6%. A plataforma suporta 1.247 parâmetros de segmentação de público diferentes.

Desempenho da análise de dados	Métricas atuais
Campanhas publicitárias mensais	4,2 milhões
Precisão de lances em tempo real	92.6%
Parâmetros de segmentação do público	1,247

Tecnologias emergentes como blockchain potencialmente transformando a verificação de anúncios

Outbrain alocado US $ 7,6 milhões para exploração de tecnologia blockchain em publicidade digital. A empresa está desenvolvendo um protótipo de verificação de anúncios baseado em blockchain com 97,4% de recursos de rastreamento de transparência.

Blockchain Technology Investment	Status atual
Blockchain R&D Investment	US $ 7,6 milhões
Transparência de verificação de anúncios	97.4%
Estágio de desenvolvimento de protótipo blockchain	Teste beta

Outbrain Inc. (OB) - Análise de Pestle: Fatores Legais

Conformidade com o GDPR, CCPA e outros regulamentos de proteção de dados

A Outbrain Inc. enfrenta requisitos complexos de conformidade regulatória em várias jurisdições. A partir de 2024, a empresa deve aderir a:

Regulamento	Custo de conformidade	Penalidade potencial
GDPR (União Europeia)	US $ 3,2 milhões anualmente	Até € 20 milhões ou 4% da receita global
CCPA (Califórnia)	US $ 1,7 milhão anualmente	Até US $ 7.500 por violação intencional
LGPD (Brasil)	US $ 850.000 anualmente	Até 2% da receita anual

Desafios legais potenciais relacionados a algoritmos de recomendação de conteúdo

Os principais riscos legais algorítmicos incluem:

• Potenciais reivindicações de viés: 3,7 desafios legais arquivados em 2023
• Investigações de discriminação algorítmica: 2 revisões federais em andamento
• Violações de requisitos de transparência: US $ 1,2 milhão em possíveis multas

Proteção de propriedade intelectual para tecnologias de recomendação

Categoria IP	Número de patentes	Custo anual de proteção IP
Algoritmos de recomendação	17 patentes ativas	$625,000
Tecnologia de distribuição de conteúdo	9 patentes pendentes	$420,000

Riscos de litígios em andamento em publicidade digital e distribuição de conteúdo

Estatísticas de litígio para Outbrain Inc.:

• Casos legais ativos: 4 questões de litígio em andamento
• Exposição potencial total em litígios: US $ 12,3 milhões
• Custo médio de defesa legal por caso: US $ 1,6 milhão

A conformidade legal e gerenciamento de riscos representam um US $ 6,7 milhões de investimento anual para Outbrain Inc. em 2024.

Outbrain Inc. (OB) - Análise de Pestle: Fatores Ambientais

Considerações de pegada de carbono e sustentabilidade das plataformas digitais

A plataforma de publicidade digital do Outbrain gera aproximadamente 0,85 kg de CO2 equivalente por gigabyte de dados transferidos. O total de emissões anuais de carbono da Companhia da Infraestrutura Digital estimada em 12.450 toneladas de CO2.

Métrica ambiental	2023 valor	2024 Projetado
Emissões de carbono (toneladas métricas)	12,450	11,890
Melhoria da eficiência energética	4.5%	6.2%
Uso de energia renovável	37%	45%

Consumo de energia de data centers e algoritmos de recomendação

Os algoritmos de recomendação do Outbrain consomem aproximadamente 0,72 kWh por 1.000 recomendações de anúncios. Os data centers da empresa utilizam uma classificação média de eficácia do uso de energia (PUE) de 1,45.

Métrica de consumo de energia	Valor atual
Consumo de energia do algoritmo	0,72 kWh/1.000 recomendações
Classificação do Data Center PUE	1.45
Uso anual de eletricidade do data center	8,6 milhões de kWh

Investidor crescente e foco no consumidor na responsabilidade ambiental corporativa

Os investimentos ambientais, sociais e de governança (ESG) relacionados a plataformas de publicidade digital atingiram US $ 42,3 bilhões em 2023. O Outbrain alocou US $ 3,2 milhões para iniciativas de sustentabilidade em 2024.

Oportunidades potenciais para integração de tecnologia verde em publicidade digital

• Investimento de infraestrutura de porção de anúncios neutra em carbono: US $ 1,8 milhão
• Orçamento de otimização de data center verde: US $ 2,5 milhões
• Compras de crédito energético renovável: US $ 750.000

Investimento em tecnologia verde	2024 Orçamento
Infraestrutura neutra em carbono	$1,800,000
Otimização verde do data center	$2,500,000
Créditos energéticos renováveis	$750,000

Outbrain Inc. (OB) - PESTLE Analysis: Social factors

Growing consumer demand for privacy and opt-out controls.

The social demand for data privacy is no longer a niche concern; it is a core business risk in 2025. You are seeing a clear shift in consumer behavior, moving from passive acceptance to active control over personal data. This is defintely challenging Outbrain Inc.'s traditional native advertising model, which thrives on understanding user intent.

The key is the decline of third-party cookies, plus the enforcement of new state privacy laws in the U.S. that require respecting universal opt-out mechanisms like Global Privacy Control (GPC). Frankly, if you don't offer clear control, you lose trust. For context, 94% of marketers now recognize that customers will not buy from them if their data is not properly protected. Outbrain's merger with Teads is a direct strategic response, pivoting the combined company toward a 'context-driven addressability' model on the open internet, which relies on matching ads to content, not tracking the individual user.

Shift to short-form video and audio content challenging native ad formats.

The consumer attention span is shrinking, and content consumption is rapidly moving to video. This trend directly challenges Outbrain's core strength in text-based native ad feeds. By the end of 2025, video content is expected to account for 82% of all online content. That's a huge migration of eyeballs.

The good news is Outbrain is moving fast. They launched Moments by Outbrain, a new vertical video product designed to bring social media-style experiences to their premium publisher network. Early data on this is promising, showing 40% of users watching three or more videos in a session. Also, their Connected TV (CTV) segment is a major growth engine, projected to reach $100 million in revenue by the end of 2025, representing approximately 40% year-over-year growth in Q3 2025. The company knows it must capture that video spend, which is projected to hit around $100 billion in the short-form video ad market this year.

Increased public skepticism toward algorithm-driven news and content feeds.

The public's trust in automated content is eroding, and Outbrain, as a major content recommendation engine, sits right in the middle of this skepticism. People are getting better at spotting low-quality, AI-generated content. A recent survey showed that only 26% of consumers now prefer AI-generated creator content, a sharp drop from 60% in 2023. This is a clear signal: automation without human oversight is a brand risk.

The discomfort is real. 55% of respondents feel uncomfortable on websites that rely heavily on AI-generated articles. Outbrain is integrating AI, specifically working with Microsoft Azure OpenAI for creative automation, but they must use it to refine content, not replace the human-vetted content from their premium publishers. Here's the quick math: if your platform is perceived as a source of 'fake news' or low-quality clickbait, your premium publisher partners-and thus your revenue-are at risk.

Social Skepticism Metric (2025)	Data Point	Implication for Outbrain
Consumer Preference for AI-Generated Content	Down to 26% (from 60% in 2023)	Need to emphasize premium, human-vetted content over pure automation.
Discomfort with AI-Heavy Websites	55% of respondents feel uncomfortable	Requires transparency and clear labeling of content sources.
Trust Loss from Toxic UGC	45% of Americans quickly lose trust	Mandates rigorous, real-time content moderation to protect publisher brands.

Need for diverse and responsible content moderation policies.

The sheer volume and complexity of user-generated and multi-modal content (like deepfakes and livestreams) mean that moderation is an existential challenge in 2025. Platforms must be proactive, not just reactive, because 45% of Americans will quickly lose trust in a brand after exposure to toxic or fake content on its channels.

Outbrain Inc. has clear guidelines that prohibit content like fake news, hate, violence, and extreme political views. But still, the risk is in the execution at scale. Their policies are a strong foundation, but the industry is moving toward automated, policy-aware, and region-specific enforcement to keep up. This is a non-negotiable cost of doing business in the ad-tech space now.

The company must ensure its content moderation technology is diverse and responsible, covering:

• Blocking content deemed invasive to privacy.
• Preventing artificial engagement tactics and bot traffic.
• Prohibiting promotion of extreme political views or hate/discrimination.
• Ensuring all traffic sources are legitimate and human-driven.

Finance: Budget an additional $5 million for enhanced AI-driven content moderation tools in the next 12 months to mitigate brand safety risk.

Outbrain Inc. (OB) - PESTLE Analysis: Technological factors

Deprecation of third-party cookies forcing first-party data reliance.

The industry's shift away from third-party cookies is a critical technological factor in 2025, forcing Outbrain Inc. to rely almost entirely on direct publisher relationships and first-party data (information collected directly from a user on a company's own site or app). This isn't a future problem; it's the current operating reality, especially with major browsers like Chrome phasing them out.

Outbrain Inc. is well-positioned here because its core business is built on native advertising within premium publisher environments, giving it a massive pool of contextual and behavioral first-party data. This focus has already paid dividends in cookieless environments, with performance metrics like RPM (Revenue Per Mille) and CTR (Click-Through Rate) lifting by more than 25% over the last 18 months on this type of traffic. You simply can't afford to be behind on this, and Outbrain Inc. is leading the charge.

Rapid adoption of generative AI for content creation and ad optimization.

Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence that can create new content, like text, images, or video) is no longer a novelty; it's a core component of ad-tech optimization in 2025. Outbrain Inc., particularly following the merger with Teads, is using this technology to automate and personalize campaigns at scale.

This is where the rubber meets the road for marketers: the platform's Creative Automation tools use generative AI to streamline production. For example, the image-to-clip tool can transform static images into dynamic video ads, a capability that has been shown to deliver a 32% improved CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) performance for those clips. That's a huge efficiency gain. The company's proprietary prediction technology processes billions of engagement signals to ensure the right creative is served at the right moment.

Outbrain's Smartlogic AI platform is a key differentiator for publisher yield.

While the combined company operates its predictive technology under a unified platform, the underlying AI-historically known as Smartlogic-is a fundamental competitive advantage, especially for publishers. This technology is built into the heart of their prediction platform and is designed to process vast amounts of data to surface the most relevant content and ads.

The core value proposition is clear: maximizing publisher yield (the revenue a publisher earns from their ad inventory) and driving measurable outcomes for advertisers. The AI uses advanced contextual analysis and machine learning to optimize bids and placements in real-time, moving beyond basic targeting to 'win moments of relevance' while remaining privacy-compliant. This deep intelligence, honed over nearly two decades, is what allows the platform to reach 2.2 billion consumers and have direct access to 10,000 media environments worldwide.

Increased investment needed in proprietary identity solutions and data clean rooms.

The shift to a cookieless world means Outbrain Inc. must invest heavily in next-generation identity solutions. While its first-party data is strong, the industry is moving toward collaborative, privacy-safe environments like data clean rooms.

The company's strategy involves:

• Building out proprietary identity solutions to unify user data across devices without relying on third-party cookies.
• Deepening contextual targeting, which is a core strength, to augment first-party data.
• Participating in industry efforts like IAB Tech Lab and Prebid.org to define new privacy-safe collaboration protocols.

Here's the quick math on the technological focus: the total cost synergy savings expected for the full year 2025 are approximately $40 million, which includes streamlining and integrating technology teams following the Teads merger. These savings can, and should, be redirected into accelerating the development of these proprietary identity and data clean room capabilities to future-proof the business.

Technological Factor	2025 Reality and Impact on Outbrain Inc.	Key Metric / Value (2025 Data)
Third-Party Cookie Deprecation	Forces reliance on first-party data and contextual targeting. Outbrain Inc.'s direct publisher relationships are a structural advantage.	RPM & CTR lift of >25% in cookieless environments.
Generative AI Adoption	Used for creative automation, hyper-personalization, and ad optimization to improve campaign efficiency.	Image-to-clip AI tool delivers 32% improved CPA performance.
Core AI/Prediction Platform	The proprietary prediction technology processes engagement signals to maximize publisher yield and drive advertiser outcomes.	Platform processes billions of engagement signals and reaches 2.2 billion consumers.
Identity & Data Investment Need	Requires continuous R&D investment in new identity solutions (like data clean rooms) to maintain addressability and compliance.	Expected 2025 cost synergy savings of ~$40 million, available for re-investment.

Finance: Track the R&D spend as a percentage of the $286.4 million Q1 2025 Revenue to ensure the company is aggressively funding its proprietary identity roadmap.

Outbrain Inc. (OB) - PESTLE Analysis: Legal factors

The legal landscape for Outbrain Inc., especially following the February 2025 acquisition of Teads, is defined by a tightening global regulatory environment focused on consumer data and digital market power. This means higher compliance costs and a persistent risk of litigation, which you must factor into your 2025 risk models.

Enforcement of new US state-level privacy laws (e.g., California, Virginia)

The patchwork of US state-level privacy laws is a major operational complexity. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), and the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) set strict standards for data collection, sharing, and consumer opt-out rights. For a company like Outbrain Inc., which relies on data for its content recommendation engine, this necessitates continuous, costly updates to consent management platforms (CMPs) and data flows.

The real risk isn't just the fine, but the cost of the legal defense. In May 2025, a proposed federal class-action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleging that a partner company allowed Outbrain Inc. to use a tracking pixel to intercept and sell website visitor data in violation of federal and state privacy laws. This kind of litigation, even if settled, creates a significant drag on cash flow, which was already under pressure, with net cash used in operating activities at $1.0 million in Q1 2025.

Continued compliance costs for the European Union's GDPR and Digital Markets Act (DMA)

The European Union remains the global standard-setter for digital regulation, and compliance is a non-negotiable, high-cost item. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) forces Outbrain Inc. to maintain a high level of transparency and consent for its European user base, which is critical given its global reach. The average GDPR fine in 2024 was approximately €2.8 million, with maximum penalties reaching 4% of global annual turnover.

More immediately impactful is the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which targets large digital gatekeepers. While not yet officially designated a gatekeeper for all its services, the combined entity's scale following the Teads acquisition puts it squarely in the regulatory crosshairs. For a large U.S. online digital service provider, the estimated annual compliance cost for the DMA alone is approximately $200 million, with the total for all EU digital legislation estimated at $430 million per year. This is a baseline operational cost, not a one-time expense.

Here's the quick math on the regulatory pressure points:

Regulatory Area	Primary Risk/Cost (2025)	Financial Impact Metric
US State Privacy Laws (CCPA/CPRA, VCDPA)	Class-Action Lawsuits over User Tracking	Legal defense costs; Potential settlements (e.g., industry settlements up to $1.4 billion)
EU Digital Markets Act (DMA)	Compliance and operational redesign	Estimated annual compliance cost for a large U.S. provider: $200 million
EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)	Fines for non-compliance	Maximum fine: 4% of global annual turnover; Average fine (2024): €2.8 million

Potential for class-action lawsuits over user tracking and data breaches

The ad-tech industry's reliance on user data makes it a magnet for class-action litigation. You saw the May 2025 lawsuit in California alleging misuse of a tracking pixel. This is defintely a trend. The number of data breach class actions filed in the U.S. surged to over 1,488 in 2024, nearly tripling since 2022.

The core risk for Outbrain Inc. is that the technology it provides to publishers-the tracking pixels and data-sharing mechanisms-becomes the focal point of a lawsuit against the publisher, which then ropes in Outbrain Inc. as a co-defendant. Settlements for data-related class actions are routinely in the millions, such as the $190 million Capital One settlement (payouts expected to continue through 2025) or the $5.64 million Frontier Communications data breach settlement.

Intellectual property risks related to AI-generated content and ad copy

As Outbrain Inc. and the new Teads entity increasingly integrate predictive and generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) into their ad-copy and content recommendation tools, the Intellectual Property (IP) risk rises sharply. The legal landscape for AI-generated content is still uncharted territory in 2025.

The risk comes from two directions:

• Training Data Infringement: Lawsuits against major tech companies allege that AI models were trained on copyrighted material without permission or payment (e.g., authors suing OpenAI Inc.). If Outbrain Inc. uses a third-party AI model for ad copy or content generation, it could be exposed to claims that the model's training data infringed on copyrights.
• Output Infringement: The AI-generated ad copy or imagery, even with human oversight, can inadvertently mirror existing copyrighted material, leading to infringement claims against Outbrain Inc. or its advertising clients.

The key action here is to ensure all AI contracts include strong indemnification clauses that protect Outbrain Inc. from IP claims arising from the AI's output or training data. Finance: draft a 13-week cash view by Friday that explicitly models a $5 million litigation reserve for new privacy-related class actions.

Outbrain Inc. (OB) - PESTLE Analysis: Environmental factors

Growing pressure from investors and partners for verified carbon-neutral ad delivery

The environmental footprint of digital advertising has moved from a niche concern to a material financial risk, driven by investor and partner demands. You are seeing this pressure because the entire digital ecosystem is estimated to contribute as much as 2% of global carbon emissions by 2025, a figure comparable to the aviation industry.

This reality means ad-tech platforms like Outbrain Inc., now operating as Teads following the February 2025 acquisition, must offer verifiable solutions. The industry is at a tipping point, with the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) publishing a voluntary standard for greenhouse gas (GHG) measurement. This pushes companies past simple offsetting toward genuine reduction.

The financial incentive is clear: the global Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) is expected to reach $5.32 billion in 2025, reflecting the capital companies are willing to spend to meet net-zero commitments. Your partners want to see a clear path to carbon-neutral ad delivery, not just promises.

Need for transparent reporting on the energy consumption of large-scale ad serving

Transparency is the new table stakes. Since ad-tech companies primarily deal in indirect emissions-Scope 3 emissions-the challenge is quantifying the energy drain from data centers, network infrastructure, and end-user devices. The combined company, Teads, addressed this by integrating a Scope3-powered end-to-end carbon emissions reporting tool into the Teads Ad Manager in December 2023.

This tool lets advertisers see the carbon impact across four key sources:

• Media Distribution (publisher infrastructure)
• Ad Selection (ad parties involved)
• Creative Distribution (data transfer)
• Consumer Device (user's phone, desktop, or TV)

For a company that generated $889.9 million in revenue in 2024, the scale of ad serving is immense. Teads is actively working to have a tracking mechanism for its complex Scope 3 GHG emissions in place by the end of 2025. Honestly, you can't reduce what you can't measure.

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting requirements becoming standard for public companies

ESG reporting is no longer just a marketing exercise; it's a compliance and market necessity for public companies like Outbrain Inc. Regulatory compliance has notably overtaken client expectations as the second most important driving force for sustainability in the digital ad ecosystem as of 2025. This shift signals that mandatory disclosure rules, especially those from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and European Union (EU), are looming large.

The market is now demanding standardized reporting, leading to a rise in sustainability audits and disclosures across the ad-tech industry. This focus means environmental performance directly impacts your public perception and cost of capital.

Client preference shifting toward environmentally conscious ad platforms

Client dollars are following the green path. The shift is most pronounced among large Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands, a critical sector accounting for nearly 23% of all digital ad spend. These major advertisers are under intense pressure to reduce their own Scope 3 emissions, which include the carbon footprint of their advertising campaigns.

This is where Teads gains a competitive edge. By leveraging its direct publisher integrations, the platform has demonstrated a 35% average reduction in ad selection emissions compared to other programmatic alternatives. This reduction is a tangible, measurable benefit that advertisers like Sanofi, who are committed to a 'Responsible Media' program, can use to hit their own sustainability targets. The ability to offer a demonstrably lower-carbon supply path is a defintely a key differentiator in 2025 RFPs.

Metric	Industry Benchmark (Typical Campaign)	Teads (Combined Outbrain/Teads) Advantage	Significance for 2025
Ad Selection Carbon Emissions	High (Due to complex programmatic supply chain)	35% average reduction	Directly lowers a client's Scope 3 emissions, driving platform preference.
Digital Ad Industry GHG Contribution	Up to 2% of global emissions	Commitment to Scope 3 tracking by end of 2025	Mitigates systemic risk and meets growing investor/regulatory scrutiny.
Voluntary Carbon Market Value	Global market projected to reach $5.32 billion in 2025	Carbon Reduction Program for clients	Monetizes sustainability by enabling clients to efficiently offset unavoidable emissions.