What is revenue ex-TAC?
Revenue ex-TAC is revenue minus traffic acquisition costs (TAC), the payments a company makes to publishers or partners who supply the ad space or traffic. It shows how much money the company actually keeps. Companies that report gross revenue, such as ad networks and Criteo, highlight ex-TAC or contribution ex-TAC to show underlying performance.
If a network books $100 of advertiser spend as revenue and pays publishers $60, its Revenue ex-TAC revenue is $40. Criteo reports "Contribution ex-TAC", which also deducts other direct costs of revenue; see Contribution ex-TAC. Alphabet discloses TAC paid to Google Network partners and to distribution partners such as Apple.
Ex-TAC makes gross reporters comparable with companies that report net, and trends in TAC reveal whether a company is paying more to acquire supply. See gross vs net revenue for why accounting treatment differs.