The Trade Desk's revenue slipped to $736 million while profit fell to $38 million
The Trade Desk's quarterly revenue dipped to $736 million from $739 million a year earlier, and profit fell from $116 million to $38 million. Video is a low 50% share of spend, and audio is growing fastest by percentage.
What happened
AdExchanger reports that The Trade Desk's total revenue last quarter was $736 million, a small dip from $739 million a year earlier. Profit dropped much more steeply, from $116 million to $38 million. In Q3 the company beat the revenue forecast it had set for itself earlier in the year, a forecast AdExchanger calls pessimistic, yet its growth has stalled. Green said: "Our growth is still below the level we expect from ourselves and what we think we are capable of."
Why it matters
The breakdown of spend on the platform speaks volumes to the where buyers are spending. Total spend on video including CTV plus online/mobile video is a low 50%. Mobile is high 20%. And display a low double digit %age. Audio was 7% of their business in Q3, which Green said is the fastest growing by %age of the company.
That depends - the APAC region is up 30% over last year's for first nine months, and for China that's 45%. EMEA up by more than 20%.
So the power of who chooses media is changing. Green noted that more often it's the senior people in agencies, large brand procurement departments and high-level executives making the decisions about what to purchase rather than the people who are more involved at the platform-level (the traders).
So they're trying to automate, too. According to AdExchanger, avg. time to build a campaign has dropped by 9%, time to create ad group is 15% shorter, and 9% shorter upload time to creative. Their agentic platform is still in beta but Green says there is a significant time saving for early adopters.
Two additional pieces of information help with the planning process. Green noted they are looking at acquisitions more than in the past. CFO Nate Olmstead mentioned that the company is seeing particular strength in demand in the medical health area and in the political election area.
What to do
- Compare your channel mix with the platform's. Pull share of spend by video, mobile, display and audio from your DSP reporting for the last quarter. On the platform overall, video is a low 50% share, mobile is in the high 20% range and display is a low double-digit percentage. Audio sits at 7% and is growing fastest by percentage. Decide whether a test budget for audio belongs in your next plan.
- Check your regional plans. If you run campaigns in APAC or EMEA, review your reach and pricing reports in those markets against the growth the company reports there.
- Time your own campaign setup. Log how long campaign builds, ad group creation and creative uploads take your team now. The reported reductions are 9%, 15% and 9% respectively. Use your own measurements, not the reported ones, when you plan staffing.
- Decide whether to join the agentic beta. The platform is in beta. Treat it as a test with a defined scope and a named owner rather than a switch for live budgets.
- Prepare your budget case for senior readers. Buying decisions are moving toward senior agency leaders, brand procurement teams and executives. Brief those contacts in plain business terms.
- Watch pricing in health and political inventory. The CFO cited demand strength in medical health and the political election business. If you buy in those areas, compare recent CPMs with earlier periods.
- Watch for acquisitions. Green said the company is looking at deals more than before. Note where your contract terms would be affected if the products or data you buy through the platform change.