WASHINGTON, June 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The U.S. out of home (OOH) advertising industry continued its record-breaking momentum in Q1 2026, generating an all-time first quarter high of $2.12 billion in revenue and extending OOH’s growth streak to 20 consecutive quarters. According to new data released today by the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA), the leading trade group representing the entire OOH advertising industry, revenue increased 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year.
The strong quarterly performance builds on OOH’s record-setting $9.46 billion in revenue in 2025 and underscores the medium’s growing role in today’s media mix. Digital out of home (DOOH) remained a key growth driver, increasing 12.9% year-over-year and accounting for 36% of total OOH revenue. Printed OOH also delivered solid growth, increasing 4.1%.
Among major OOH formats, Transit led the quarter with an 18% increase over Q1 2025, followed by Street Furniture (+11.5%), Billboards (+4.8%), and Place-Based media (+3.3%).
All digital OOH categories posted gains, with double-digit growth across nearly every format. Digital Transit increased 25%, digital Street Furniture rose 21.5%, and digital Place-Based grew 17%, while digital Billboards delivered strong growth of 8.1%.
“This record-setting start to the year reflects the confidence marketers have in out of home as a performance-driven media channel,” said Anna Bager, President and CEO of OAAA. “Advertisers continue to invest in OOH because it delivers a unique combination of scale, creative impact, and measurable business outcomes. Recent research from OAAA and Kochava found that OOH delivers twice the performance lift of television, reinforcing what we’re seeing in the marketplace as brands increasingly turn to OOH to drive both awareness and action. The continued growth of digital formats, alongside strong spending from technology, financial services, and consumer brands, demonstrates the expanding role OOH plays in today’s media mix.”
Technology and AI Brands Accelerate Investment
Technology advertisers emerged as one of the quarter’s strongest growth stories. Spending from Computers, Software, and Internet Services advertisers surged 139% year-over-year.
Among the top 100 OOH advertisers, 72% increased spending compared to Q1 2025. Twenty advertisers more than doubled their investment, including Genspark, OpenAI, Boehringer Ingelheim, Vibe.co, Lambda, Charter Communications, eBay, Citi, Odoo, Pepsi, Dan Newlin Injury Attorneys, Peacock, Capital One, Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Brex, Kaiser Permanente, Geico, United Airlines, City of Orlando, and ABC.
Three AI brands, Genspark, OpenAI, and Lambda, were among the quarter’s newest and fastest-growing OOH advertisers, underscoring the medium’s growing role in helping emerging technology companies build awareness at scale.
Thirty-one percent of the top 100 OOH advertisers were technology or direct-to-consumer brands. Twelve technology and DTC advertisers ranked among the top 30 OOH spenders, including Apple, Verizon, T-Mobile, Uber, HBO, Genspark, DoorDash, OpenAI, Amazon, Peacock, Paramount, and Netflix.
Top Spending Advertisers and Categories in Q1 2026
Ranked by total spend, the top 10 advertisers in OOH for Q1 were:
- Morgan & Morgan
- Apple
- McDonald’s
- Verizon
- Dunkin’
- T-Mobile
- Coca-Cola
- Richemont
- Disney
- Universal Pictures
Nine of the top 10 product industries increased spending year-over-year, led by:
- Computers, Software and Internet Services (+139%)
- Financial (+29%)
- Local Services & Amusements (+12%)
- Insurance & Real Estate (+5%)
- Automotive Dealers & Services (+3%)
Growth was broad-based across the industry, with gains spanning technology, financial services, legal services, retail, restaurants, automotive, and insurance. The diversity of spending reflects OOH’s ability to support both brand-building and performance objectives across virtually every major advertiser category.
Legal Services remained the largest product category by total OOH spend and grew 18% year-over-year. Three additional top 10 product categories posted double-digit growth:
- Computer Software (+158%)
- Consumer Banking (+17%)
- Architects, Contractors, Engineers (+15%)
Eight brands were new to Q1 OOH spending compared to the same period last year, including Genspark, OpenAI, Lambda, Boehringer Ingelheim, Charter Communications, Citi, eBay, and Vibe.co.
Fourteen advertisers increased OOH spending by more than $2 million during the quarter, led by Morgan & Morgan, followed by Genspark, OpenAI, Boehringer Ingelheim, Capital One, Peacock, Vibe.co, Lambda, Coca-Cola, Richemont, Charter Communications, Uber, Pepsi, and eBay.
OAAA publishes complete industry revenue estimates using data from Miller Kaplan and MediaRadar (which does not adjust for changes in data sources), as well as public reporting from member companies. These estimates encompass spending across digital and static billboards, street furniture, transit, place-based, and cinema advertising, as well as product category and advertiser segmentation.
NOTE: The Q1 analysis does not include Cinema spend from March 2026, as MediaRadar had not yet received the data when the analysis was produced.
For more information about category spend, please contact:
Steve Nicklin, snicklin@oaaa.org | (202) 833-5566
About the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA)
The Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) is the national trade association representing the out of home (OOH) advertising industry. OAAA’s mission is to protect, promote, and advance the medium through government affairs and advocacy, industry research and market intelligence, brand and agency engagement, and industry leadership and convening. OAAA works to ensure OOH’s essential role in the modern media mix by advancing standards, aligning the industry around shared priorities, and shaping the future of OOH. Founded in 1891, OAAA serves more than 850 member companies, including media owners, advertisers, agencies, ad tech providers, and suppliers. The association is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in New York City. For more information, visit oaaa.org.
