LOS ANGELES, May 8, 2026, 05:09 PDT
- The Trade Desk dropped over 12% in U.S. premarket after missing first-quarter profit forecasts and putting out weaker-than-expected guidance for Q2.
- Revenue climbed 12% to $688.9 million. Still, net income dropped, and the pace of growth lagged last year.
- Analysts cited tougher competition, agency pushback and a slowdown in some ad categories. The company, for its part, highlighted connected TV, audio, and AI tools as ongoing areas for growth.
The Trade Desk’s stock tumbled more than 12% ahead of the bell Friday, with the advertising-technology firm rattling investors by posting a mixed Q1 and projecting Q2 revenue that missed analysts’ targets. Shares were changing hands at $20.60 premarket, off 12.32% from Thursday’s $23.49 close.
The selloff is sparking fresh questions among investors about whether The Trade Desk can hold onto its growth premium as advertisers tighten budgets and move money between competing ad platforms. The company operates a demand-side platform—software that lets brands and agencies buy digital ads, usually via automated programmatic auctions.
For the quarter ended March 31, revenue climbed to $688.9 million, up from $616.0 million a year ago, according to a regulatory filing. Net income came in at $40.0 million, down from $50.7 million, and diluted earnings per share edged down to 8 cents from 10 cents.
The company is guiding for second-quarter revenue of no less than $750 million, with adjusted EBITDA pegged around $260 million. That profit metric excludes interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and certain other expenses. Analysts, for their part, had been looking for revenue closer to $771 million, market reports show.
Chief Executive Jeff Green described the quarter as “strong” in the release, though he pointed to ongoing macro headwinds. Green reiterated that The Trade Desk is sticking with “objective, transparent and data-driven media buying on the open internet.” The Trade Desk
During the earnings call, interim CFO Tahnil Davis pointed to “strong trends across CTV and audio” as the engine behind first-quarter growth. Video, including Connected TV — ads delivered via streaming on television screens — accounted for just over half of the business, Davis noted. Audio, though, outpaced every other channel in growth. MarketBeat
Wall Street didn’t wait around. William Blair’s Ralph Schackart cut his rating on the stock to Market Perform from Outperform, pointing to first-quarter survey results: digital ad buyers reported The Trade Desk losing ground. Schackart’s team sees that trend sticking.
Oppenheimer lowered its rating to Perform from Outperform and dropped its $35 price target, citing a lack of catalysts for the shares unless revenue growth picks up. The firm noted it’s still not clear when The Trade Desk will roll out its AI-driven, agent-integrated ad-buying products.
The stock remains clouded by a dispute dating back to March. At the time, Reuters revealed Publicis had told clients to steer clear of The Trade Desk’s platform after an audit; Publicis claimed an independent review found the company “did not pass the audit.” The Trade Desk countered, insisting it was “not true” that it failed. Reuters
Rivalry in the space has intensified. Wedbush trimmed its price target on The Trade Desk to $21 from $23, maintaining a Neutral stance. The firm pointed to the recent Publicis setback and a broader industry tilt toward closed-loop performance models favored by players like Amazon. Still, analysts noted The Trade Desk retains strengths—frequency controls, broad publisher reach, and buying flexibility spanning connected TV, display, audio, and out-of-home.
The danger here: this might not be a simple cycle. If the agency standoff drags on, or if major advertisers keep shifting spending toward Amazon, Google, or Meta, then The Trade Desk’s reputation as an independent open-internet player could come under heavier, longer-lasting pressure—particularly in connected TV, where rivals are crowding in for the same ad budgets.
Green told analysts talks with Publicis are still in progress, adding there’s “not really anything incremental to add” when it comes to whether agency softness played into the Q2 outlook. Davis called 2026 a “year of disciplined reinvestment”—headcount growth should remain slower than revenue gains, and they’re targeting a full-year adjusted EBITDA margin of at least 40%. MarketBeat
