Live index · Trailing 12 months
The DTC Ad-Spend Index
What public direct-to-consumer and CPG brands actually spend on marketing, as a share of trailing-twelve-month revenue. Each company that reports selling & marketing separately is ranked below, with the cohort median as the headline index reading. Straight from SEC filings, refreshed every earnings wave.
Reported selling & marketing expense as a share of trailing-twelve-month revenue — who leans hardest on paid growth, and who runs lean. Cohort median: 15.1% across 14 companies.
| Rank | Company | Category | Filing date | Marketing spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | HIMSHims & Hers Health | telehealth DTC | Nov 9, 2026 | 33.8% |
| 🥈 | SAMBoston Beer | beverage CPG | Oct 22, 2026 | 33.5% |
| 🥉 | ETSYEtsy | marketplace DTC | Oct 28, 2026 | 31.6% |
| 4 | SKINBeauty Health | beauty CPG | Nov 5, 2026 | 30.4% |
| 5 | PRPLPurple Innovation | mattress DTC | Nov 4, 2026 | 29.3% |
| 6 | HNSTHonest Co | personal care DTC | Nov 5, 2026 | 17.3% |
| 7 | RVLVRevolve | apparel DTC | Nov 3, 2026 | 15.2% |
| 8 | FIGSFIGS | apparel DTC | Nov 5, 2026 | 14.9% |
| 9 | WRBYWarby Parker | eyewear DTC | Nov 5, 2026 | 12.1% |
| 10 | PETSPetMed Express | pet DTC | Aug 13, 2026 | 11.7% |
| 11 | GCOGenesco | footwear retail | Sep 10, 2026 | 5.8% |
| 12 | THSTreeHouse Foods | food CPG | Nov 10, 2025 | 4.4% |
| 13 | CELHCelsius Holdings | beverage CPG | Nov 5, 2026 | 2.7% |
| 14 | CROXCrocs | footwear DTC | Oct 29, 2026 | 1.4% |
Marketing intensity by category
Median S&M % of TTM revenue, categories with 2+ reporters.
| Category | Median | n |
|---|---|---|
| beverage CPG | 18.1% | 2 |
| apparel DTC | 15.1% | 2 |
Cohort median over time
One snapshot so far — the trend builds as the index refreshes each quarter.
| Refreshed | Median | n |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-09 | 15.1% | 14 |
What this measures (and what it doesn't)
This index is reported selling & marketing expense divided by trailing-twelve-month revenue for every brand in the cohort that breaks marketing out as its own line. The cohort median is the headline reading.
One honest caveat: a public company's S&M line includes salaries, retail-selling costs and overhead, not just media spend — so this runs higher than a private brand's blended paid-media-to-revenue ratio. Read it as relative marketing intensity across the cohort, not a CAC benchmark. Brands that fold marketing into a single SG&A line don't appear (n stated above). For the contribution-margin view, see the DTC Leaderboard's CM3 proxy.
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