Facebook, Google's Ad Duopoly Nearing Its Demise. From A Former Ally

Apple Inc AAPL has gained momentum in digital ads, while Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google and Meta Platforms Inc META Facebook seem to lose steam, CNBC reports citing Appsumer.

The research found that Apple's ad business benefited from its major iOS privacy update in 2021 at the cost of Facebook.

Lesser tracking preferences by iPhone users made it more challenging for Facebook and other online companies to tailor their ads to help business find their most promising customers.

Additionally, the continued mix shift to offline and service industries is less favorable for META advertising, said Mizuho.

Apple's advertiser adoption rate for Q2 rose almost 400 bps from a year earlier to 94.8%, Facebook's adoption fell 300 bps to 82.8%, and Google's rate declined 200 bps to 94.8%.

Appsumer attributed Apple's win to many app developers willing to pay big money to bolster downloads and Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) update.

Related: Apple's Rivals Bled After It Unleashed Privacy Moves — Now The iPhone Maker Reportedly Plans To Double Its Advertising Staff

The report highlighted that Apple has slightly more visibility or advantage than the other channels on iOS, the report highlighted.

Apple's growth in online ads for developers mirrors Amazon.com Inc's AMZN position in e-commerce, as retailers spend more money to promote their products on the site, they rely on for customers.

Google topped the charts in terms of overall app developer spending on online advertising, referred to as share of wallet, with 34%. Facebook is second at 28%, followed by Apple at 15%. Facebook's share of wallet rose 400 bps to 28% in Q4, indicating some signs of recovery.

The report noted that Facebook benefits from the uncertainty of ads versus Google and Apple, which serve ads based on search terms.

Facebook still has unique properties, and people are in a mindset where they are in kind of a discovery mode, so there's still opportunity there, the report added.

Price Action: AAPL shares traded lower by 0.87% at $154.45 on the last check Tuesday.