Mozilla Revenue Increase in 2023 Masks Deeper Struggles

Mozilla’s overall revenue saw a sizeable boost in 2023, despite a drop in income from its lucrative search engine deals.

According to its latest financial report, Mozilla’s revenue in 2023 hit ~$653 million (US), up from ~$593 million in 2022.

The cause of the increase? Not any flashy new products, services, or deals – just ol’ fashioned interest and dividends (~$47 million) and returns on its investments (~$24 million).

In fact, Mozilla’s income from search engine deals actually fell by ~$15 million in 2023. Revenue from ads, sponsored links, and its own product subscriptions (like Pocket) also dipped by ~$9 million.

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Yet it’s clear search engine deals —Google the most high-profile— shore up the company’s reserves.

Even with a decrease, search deals royalties made ~$495 million in 2023 – roughly three quarters of Mozilla’s entire income for the year.

Yet, it wasn’t only Mozilla’s revenues which increased in 2023: its expenses did to.

Expenses at Mozilla hit ~$496 million in 2023, up by nearly $70 million compared with 2022. Software development, branding, and administration costs all factored in heavily.

Good News? Kinda…

Throughout 2024 we’ve seen Mozilla tighten its belt: products axed, services cancelled, teams restructured, and staff let go. The entire company got a (no-doubt expensive) rebrand to visually gesture a return to its core mission brief of making the web better.

A slump in revenue from the things it makes, owns, and controls? A declining market share for its browser (devaluing future search deals)?

It’s concerning for sure.

Keen to see the numbers? Download and/or view the report on the Mozilla website.

But let’s end on a positive note: Mozilla is still making money – good money (although roughly what Google makes in half a day). It has increased the value of its assets, and maintains a workforce full of enthusiastic, passionate, and intensely talented people.

And a lot of good will remains for Mozilla as it’s pretty much a lone voice shouting over tech giants’ manipulative algorithms intertwined with predatory ad practices, to remind us all that a web made by people, for people, is worth fighting for.