Trade Desk Stock Tumbles as Things Go from Bad to Worse

Dow Jones08-07

Trade Desk stock slumped 28% in premarket trading after the advertising technology company reported second-quarter revenue that fell short of expectations.

The company reported adjusted earnings of 34 cents a share and revenue of $715 million, up 3% from a year ago. Analysts tracked by FactSet expected adjusted earnings of 18 cents a share and revenue of $752.6 million.

"This quarter did not meet the standard we set for ourselves, but it has reinforced our belief that we are focused on the right opportunities for the future, said CEO Jeff Green.

He added they have a clear understanding of what affect the performance and were "taking decisive action to strengthen our execution, upgrade our platform, and sharpen our focus."

It means more pain for the stock, which has fallen 80% over the past year as of Thursday's close. The shares were down 28% ahead of the open Friday.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization were $241 million, down from $271 million a year ago.

The Trade Desk issued disappointing guidance for the third quarter, seeing revenue of at least $650 million versus the consensus of analysts for $806.5 million. It sees third quarter adjusted Ebitda of $160 million.

Evercore ISI analysts lead by Mark Mahaney said in a flash note after the earnings release that "shortfalls of this magnitude -- despite the resolution of a large agency HoldCo conflict early in Q3 and anticipated political tailwinds -- are likely reflective of significant take rate resets or very significant share losses." The note added that the impact of AI on the open web could also be playing a role.

KeyBanc analyst Justin Patterson said the fees for Trade Desk's Kokai AI platform compared with competitors, the macro landscape, and the company's execution problems "created a perfect storm" in the second quarter.

He added that large brands were shifting to lower-cost alternatives, driving loss of market share for the company. Patterson maintained a Sector Weight rating but said valuation multiples could face pressure over the near term.

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