Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.16 EPS

Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.16, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $715.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $752.59 million. Trade Desk had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 14.57%.The company’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Trade Desk’s conference call:

• Revenue growth materially missed expectations: Q2 revenue was $715 million, up just 3% year over year, as macro pressure on CPG and auto advertisers, lower-cost media buying, and internal execution issues weighed on results. Management expects Q3 revenue of at least $650 million, indicating continued near-term weakness.
• Operating expenses rose 6% year over year, or 12% excluding stock-based compensation, driven by platform infrastructure, AI investments, and data and decisioning capabilities. Management said it will apply greater investment discipline and reallocate resources toward the highest-priority growth initiatives.
• Several growth areas remain strong: CTV and audio again grew at double-digit rates, international revenue was supported by nearly 30% year-to-date growth in both EMEA and APAC, and China revenue rose more than 100% year to date. Joint Business Plans increased 38% year over year to 217 clients, with associated revenue growing six times faster than overall revenue.
• The company is emphasizing product upgrades to reignite growth, including the upcoming Zuma usability update, expanded Audience Unlimited data activation, and a new measurement framework focused on incremental business outcomes. Early Audience Unlimited results showed more than 25% reductions in cost per unique household and data CPM for one advertiser.
• Management remains confident in the long-term independent DSP model, arguing that AI increases the value of objective decisioning and trusted data protection. However, executives acknowledged that newly hired leaders and product initiatives will require time to ramp, and provided limited visibility into the timing of a return to stronger growth.

Trade Desk Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TTD traded down $3.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $13.80. 133,020,052 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,694,771. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.85. The firm has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.04. Trade Desk has a 52 week low of $12.83 and a 52 week high of $57.00.

Trade Desk News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Trade Desk this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Customer retention remained strong, and management highlighted ongoing product improvements and major advertising partnerships. CEO Jeff Green has also reportedly purchased shares, potentially signaling confidence in the long-term opportunity. TTD Stock Sinks Over 26% On Earnings Miss, Weak Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts substantially reduced price targets and ratings following the release. Needham retained a Buy rating with a $19 target, while other targets ranged from $12 to $15, reflecting significant disagreement over whether the selloff creates value or signals a prolonged downturn. The Trade Desk downgraded by Susquehanna
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue rose only 3% year over year to approximately $715 million, below the roughly $753 million consensus estimate. Adjusted EPS was 34 cents; although estimates vary, several reports characterized profit as below expectations and noted that EPS declined from 41 cents a year earlier. Trade Desk Stock Slumps After Revenue Misses Forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance of about $650 million was well below Wall Street expectations and implies a potential year-over-year revenue decline—the first such decline forecast since the company’s IPO. The outlook suggests that weak consumer spending, tariffs, oil prices and cautious spending by large brands are affecting advertising budgets. Trade Desk shares plunge on weak revenue, guidance miss
• Negative Sentiment: Management acknowledged execution gaps and a changing customer environment, while profitability also weakened: adjusted EBITDA fell to approximately $241 million and margins contracted. The rapid restructuring of the C-suite added to investor uncertainty about execution and leadership stability. TTD Q2 Earnings Call Flags Execution Gaps and Cautious Q3 Guide

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush set a $21.00 price objective on Trade Desk and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Trade Desk from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $15.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday. Arete Research set a $11.60 price target on shares of Trade Desk and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Trade Desk from $20.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group set a $16.00 price target on shares of Trade Desk in a research report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $20.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Trade Desk news, Director Samantha Jacobson sold 53,681 shares of Trade Desk stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.14, for a total transaction of $1,134,816.34. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $276,912.86. The trade was a 80.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Trade Desk

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TTD. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Trade Desk by 271.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,354,274 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,781,723,000 after buying an additional 26,559,005 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Trade Desk by 101.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,807,971 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $333,659,000 after acquiring an additional 3,421,074 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Trade Desk by 1,041.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,710,847 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $178,824,000 after acquiring an additional 4,298,009 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Trade Desk by 676.6% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 4,208,083 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $159,739,000 after acquiring an additional 3,666,189 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Trade Desk by 34.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,893,963 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $190,843,000 after acquiring an additional 993,739 shares during the period. 67.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trade Desk Company Profile

The Trade Desk, Inc (NASDAQ: TTD) is a technology company that provides a demand-side platform (DSP) for programmatic digital advertising. Its platform enables advertisers, agencies and other buyers to plan, purchase and measure ad inventory across digital channels, including display, video, mobile, audio, native and connected TV. By centralizing real‑time bidding, audience targeting and inventory access, the company aims to help clients optimize media spend and reach audiences at scale across publishers and ad exchanges.

Founded in 2009 by Jeff Green and Dave Pickles, The Trade Desk grew from a focus on programmatic display into a global ad‑tech provider.