Trade Desk Falls After Q1 Miss, Slower Growth Forecast
Trade Desk fell after Q1 revenue of $689M (+12% YoY) and adjusted EPS $0.28 missed estimates; Q2 revenue guidance of at least $750M undershot forecasts.
Shares of Trade Desk dropped more than 20% after the company reported first-quarter revenue of $689 million, a 12% increase from a year earlier, and adjusted earnings per share of $0.28, below analysts’ roughly $0.32 estimate. The company guided to at least $750 million in second-quarter revenue, below average analyst forecasts near $772 million.
Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $206 million and the adjusted EBITDA margin was 30%. Management said customer retention remained above 95%.
If Trade Desk reaches the minimum Q2 revenue of $750 million, that would represent about 8% year-over-year growth for the quarter.
The stock traded substantially lower than late 2024 levels and has fallen roughly 85% since December 2024. Investors reacted sharply to the profit miss and the revenue guide.
The company reported about $2.9 billion in revenue for 2025. Revenue growth slowed from 25% year over year in the first quarter of 2025 to 12% in the first quarter of 2026.
Market participants cited increased competition in connected-TV advertising from platforms that combine media inventory with retail data and measurement. Advertisers are weighing platforms that bundle inventory, shopping data and measurement services, and large platforms are expanding their connected-TV ad offerings.
Trade Desk operates a programmatic ad-buying platform used by brands and agencies to buy digital ads across websites, streaming TV, mobile apps and audio. The platform helps advertisers choose placements, target audiences, set bids and measure campaign performance.
