Trade Desk Inc

Trade Desk, Inc. (TTD) makes software that advertising agencies and brands use to purchase digital ads. Its self-service platform lets them plan, run and measure campaigns across ad formats and devices, including connected TV (streaming television delivered over the internet). The process is programmatic, meaning software decides which ad slots to bid on and what to pay, automatically. Trade Desk focuses on advertisers rather than on the publishers selling ad space. It says this avoids conflicts of interest.

Clients are advertising agencies, advertisers and companies that provide services to them. Substantially all revenue comes from ongoing master services agreements, which are standing contracts rather than one-off orders. Trade Desk charges a platform fee, generally a percentage of what clients spend through its system, plus fees for data and other add-on services. It says customer retention has topped 95% for more than a decade. An AI assistant called Koa helps users with bidding, budgets and forecasting.

For the year ended December 31, 2025, revenue was $2.9 billion, up 18.5%, and net income was $443 million. Revenue isn't broken out by product. By region, the United States supplied 85.5% ($2.48 billion) and other countries 14.5% ($420 million). Spending is concentrated. Counted at the parent level, two agency holding companies each accounted for more than 10% of gross billings (total client spending billed) in 2025.

• In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $715.1M, up 3% from a year earlier, and net income was $64.4M (-28.6%).
• For fiscal 2025, revenue was $2.90B (+18.5% year over year; +28.2% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 15.3% net margin.

• Over FY2021–FY2025: $2.26B in buybacks and $0.00 in dividends.
• The company pays no regular dividend.

Rank among 1514 US companies

Form 4 filings from 2025-10-31 to 2026-10-31 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 1 sales ($1.1M).

Large shareholders (13G filings)

ETFs with the most weight in TTD

1. Heavy reliance on two agency groups. Two advertising holding companies each made up more than 10% of gross billings in 2025. If either merges with a non-client or tightens control over its agencies, revenue could fall sharply.
2. Clients can shift spending easily. Contracts let clients decide how much to spend and end service on limited notice. Relationships aren't exclusive and switching costs are low, so a major client cutting back could quickly dent revenue.
3. Depends on access to quality ad space. Revenue relies on steady access to desirable ad space, called inventory, from publishers and exchanges. If that access shrinks, or agencies deal directly with suppliers, less spending would flow through the platform.
4. Fierce competition and pushback on pricing. The 10-K calls its market intensely competitive. Rivals could offer cheaper or different tools, and agencies and advertisers may react badly to its pricing. Either could shrink its share of ad budgets.
5. Insider control and reliance on Jeff Green. Two share classes with unequal voting rights give insiders substantial control, limiting outside shareholders' say, including over a takeover. The 10-K also names Jeff T. Green as a key employee whose loss could hurt results.
6. Results can swing from quarter to quarter. Ad budgets can shrink in weak economies and vary by season, which makes results hard to predict. Revenue grew just 3% year over year in the quarter ended June 30, 2026, and net income fell 28.6%.

• Oct 20, 2026 Executive or board change; Shareholder vote results
• Sep 15, 2026 Executive or board change
• Sep 4, 2026 Restructuring or exit costs
• Aug 6, 2026 Quarterly results released
• Jul 13, 2026 Executive or board change
• Jun 9, 2026 Executive or board change
• May 29, 2026 Executive or board change
• May 8, 2026 Executive or board change
• May 8, 2026 Shareholder vote results
• May 7, 2026 Quarterly results released

Trade Desk pays no dividend and paid none in fiscal 2021 through 2025, so it offers no regular income. Returns come only from the share price. An investor who needs cash would have to part with shares. Instead, the company repurchases its own stock. It spent about $2.26 billion over those five years, including $1.38 billion in fiscal 2025. That was more than the year's $796 million of free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business). The 10-K warns that buybacks may not fully offset shares issued to employees.

The shares fell 54.2% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered about 1.6 months after the low. They fell 54.3% in the 2022 bear market and took about 12 months to recover. As of October 28, 2026, they were 75.3% below their level a year earlier and had fallen as much as 91.5% from their peak. The price history doesn't reach the 2008 crisis. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.