CHICAGO — The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® released its audited data for CES® 2025, revealing the independently verified numbers behind the mega-show of the technology world. In this exclusive, Trade Show Executive sat down with Gary Shapiro, CEO and Vice Chair of CTA, to discuss the show’s performance in 2025 and the importance of audits in the events industry.
CES 2025: By the Numbers
The 2025 edition of CES saw the following turnout:
- 142,465 participants in total (2024: 138,789), with 53% of the audience being senior-level executives
- 57,401 (40%) international visitors from 158 countries, regions and territories (2024: 56,432)
- More than 4,500 exhibitors, with 1,400 of those in the startup community at Eureka Park (2024: 4,312)
- 305 of the Fortune 500 companies represented (2024: 302)
- More than 6,500 members of the media attending (2024: 5,355)
- More than 300 conference sessions featuring more than 1,200 speakers throughout the event
“We were thrilled with the international participation. It was up by about 1,000 people in a weird time for trade shows and international attendance. A lot of research is showing that international attendance and inbound traffic is hurting,” Shapiro said. “I think CES 2025 was very strong, but that was during the last few days of the Biden administration. … I was just thrilled the numbers went up even marginally.”
CTA’s Leaders in Technology program, aimed at connecting policymakers to the technology industry, saw 158 participants this year, with more government-affiliated guests attending separately from the program too. Shapiro said he anticipates the presence of domestic government guests to be stronger in 2026, but says only time will tell for the number of international representatives.
Connecting the Right Communities
The mission behind CES encompasses bringing the right people and communities together to help drive the technology industry forward in all sectors.
This year’s audit of CES revealed that AI was once again the top interest area for attendees, with robotics seeing an increase in interest as well. The digital health industry, which has been a growing segment on the show floor, saw attendance from the industry increase by 13% from CES 2024.
“[The digital health segment] has seen at least a decade of growth every year, and it matches and parallels what we’re doing as an association. We’re extremely active in that area, and have been phenomenally successful in attracting not just the technology companies, but those connected — insurance companies, physicians, hospitals, thought leaders and the disability industry — because they see the future in technology,” Shapiro said.
CES 2025 also saw attendance from the entertainment and advertising community grow 11% year over year.
Auditing Events Drives Trust – and Competitive Edge
CES is audited under standards from UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, by the Alliance for Audited Media, and it is designated as a UFI Approved Event.
Related. CES Breaks Down Its Auditing Process to Prove Value to Exhibitors
Shapiro believes that trade show organizers should be auditing their events to provide accurate information to their customers to help them judge their own ROI and to help market their show.
“As trade show producers, we have an obligation to provide a platform, and if we want to be up there with other forms of competition and marketing, we have to give verifiable numbers,” Shapiro said.
At a time when exhibitors and sponsors are demanding more proof of their return on investment, auditing seems like a natural tool for organizers to use to showcase the value of an event.
“Anytime we report bad news, we always say it helps our credibility. There’s always a silver lining to every cloud. I know how difficult it is to make that first leap, because we did it, and our numbers went down dramatically from what we’d estimated,” Shapiro said. “It’s not that we had a bad faith estimate, we just had no idea how many people didn’t show up. … I think people are afraid to say they weren’t being honest [or accurate] before. But, if you’re reporting honestly, there’s no fear at all, and the marketing benefit is absolutely huge.”
“There will be some discomfort and concern the first year, but then it won’t matter because it’s the baseline,” Shapiro said. “If there was ever a time to do an audit, this is the time. We are in a very soft economy environment, and CEO confidence has dropped more in the last month than in all recorded history since they’ve been running these barometers.”
Related. Beyond the Numbers: Why Independent Audits Matter for the Events Industry
Future Show Dates
CES 2026 will take place in Las Vegas Jan. 6-9.
Find the full CES 2025 Audit here.
Photo Credit: Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®
