Digital advertising firm Trade Desk reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that missed Wall Street estimates while the company's outlook for a key metric came in well below views. Trade Desk plunged on the news Thursday.
The company reported December quarter earnings after the market close on Wednesday.
On the stock market today, TTD stock plunged 30% in early trading.
At Evercore ISI, analyst Mark Mahaney said the Q4 revenue miss came from "Mis-execution on the company's part – specifically, a slower than expected rollout of Kokai (the company's latest ad tech platform) and disruptions in the company's go-to-market operations due to a very significant re-organization."
Trade Desk earnings rose 44% to 49 cents a share from a year earlier, the company said. Revenue climbed 22% to $741 million, the company said.
Trade Desk stock analysts expected earnings of 57 cents a share on sales of $759 million, according to FactSet.
TTD Stock: EBITDA Outlook Below Views
The Ventura, Calif.-based company said Q4 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 17% to $350 million. Analysts earlier estimated EBITDA of $366 million.
For the March quarter, Trade Desk said it expects revenue of $575 million, 1% below views. It predicted EBITDA of $145 million, 25% below estimates.
At Jefferies, analyst James Heaney said in a report: "Despite the tailwind of political advertising, TTD's Q4 revenue growth decelerated to 22%, which was its slowest growth rate since Q1 2023. Management is making several strategic pivots to improve financial results going forward. There are still a lot of questions that need to be addressed. Given fears over intensifying competition, especially with Amazon Prime Video, we expect investors to remain cautious."
Heading into the Trade Desk earnings report, TTD stock had advanced 4% in 2025.
The company's automated platform enables brands and ad agencies to buy online and mobile ads in real time, rather than in advance manually. In addition, Trade Desk helps clients leverage online data to improve their targeted advertising.
Further, internet TV (also called connected TV) has been a growth driver for Trade Desk stock as more video streaming services become advertising supported.
Follow Reinhardt Krause on Twitter @reinhardtk_tech for updates on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cloud computing.
