Trade Desk tumbles on earnings miss and weak guidance – Yahoo Finance
Investing.com — The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) reported first quarter results that missed earnings expectations and issued disappointing guidance, sending shares down over 14% in premarket trading Friday.
The advertising technology company posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.28, falling short of the analyst estimate of $0.32. Revenue reached $689 million, slightly exceeding the consensus estimate of $679.5 million and representing 12% growth YoY from $616 million in the prior-year period.
However, the company’s second quarter revenue guidance of at least $750 million came in well below the analyst consensus of $772.4 million.
The Trade Desk also guided to second quarter adjusted EBITDA of approximately $260 million.
The disappointing print triggered several downgrades on Wall Street.
“We were cautious on TTD into earnings, but 2Q guidance was below our expectations. Our sense is the combination of Middle East turmoil, ad agency tensions, and changes to industry structure are pressuring growth,” KeyBanc analysts said, cutting the stock to Sector Weight.
“While the first two factors could eventually reach a resolution, we do not see the competitive factor changing any time soon,” they added.
Oppenheimer also lowered its rating on the stock to Perfom from Outperform “as 2Q revenue expected to grow single-digit.”
“Now trading at 6.4x ’26 EBITDA vs. adtech 7.9x, we see no catalyst until revenue accelerates,” it wrote.
The company’s adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was $206 million, down from $208 million in the same period last year, with margins contracting to 30% from 34%.
“Q1 was another strong quarter for The Trade Desk, with revenue growing to $689 million, representing 12% year-over-year growth,” said Jeff Green, CEO and Co-Founder. “We’re encouraged by the impact of the strategic upgrades we’ve been making across the company, which contributed to our outperformance in Q1. Despite headwinds in the macro environment, we remain confident in our ability to lead and innovate within the programmatic ecosystem.”
The company maintained customer retention above 95% during the quarter, consistent with its track record over the past decade. The Trade Desk used approximately $164 million to repurchase Class A common stock during the period, with $327 million remaining authorized for future buybacks as of March 31, 2026.
GAAP net income for the quarter was $40 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, compared to $51 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2025.
