The Trade Desk, Inc. (TTD)
Runs the software that ad buyers use to place digital adverts automatically across the open internet - streaming TV, websites and apps - outside the walled gardens of Google and Meta.
Is The Trade Desk, Inc. a good stock for a UK beginner?
The honest version: There's no rating here and nothing for sale. In its favour: a leader in independent, open-internet ad buying, away from the Google/Meta walled gardens. Worth weighing: the shares have been extremely volatile and have fallen sharply from their highs.
Is this normal for this company?
Each figure against the range this same company has produced recently. Neither end of a range is the good end.
Share price divided by the earnings actually reported over the four most recent quarters. The range is the same calculation at each of this company's last few results, so roughly the past year.
Profit as a share of sales, from the company's own quarterly statements. The range covers the 5 quarters we hold, and the figure shown is its most recent one.
How these ranges are built
Every number here is the company's own reported figure, not a comparison with other companies. The ranges come from this company's own results and its share price. Where it reports in a different currency from the one its shares trade in, the price-to-earnings range is left out rather than mixing the two.
What does The Trade Desk, Inc. do?
The Trade Desk operates a 'demand-side platform' - the software that advertising agencies and brands use to place digital ads automatically, in real time, across the open internet: connected (streaming) TV, websites, music and apps, rather than inside Google's or Meta's own systems. It takes a cut of the ad spend that flows through its platform. Growth has slowed from its earlier breakneck pace, and - worth flagging - the shares have fallen a long way from their 52-week high as expectations reset. It pays no dividend, so any return depends entirely on the share price. The one thing worth watching -> whether spending on its platform re-accelerates or keeps cooling.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on value and quality, and weakest on momentum.
- !Pays no dividend - the whole return rides on the share price
- ✓Growing - revenue up about 3% over the year
- ✓Low debt - a sturdier balance sheet
- ✓Strong return on shareholder money (ROE 15%)
- Value screens high
- Quality screens high
- Growth screens low
- Momentum screens low
- Income screens low
Does The Trade Desk, Inc. pay a dividend?
No - The Trade Desk, Inc. doesn't currently pay a dividend, so the whole return would rest on the share price. Plenty of growing companies reinvest their profits instead of paying them out - neither approach is better or worse, they're just different.
Does The Trade Desk, Inc. have more cash or more debt?
It holds about $1.49B in cash against about $434.11M of debt - so it has net cash of about $1.05B. More cash than debt is a cushion: it does not need to borrow just to cover what it owes.
From the latest reported balance sheet. Cash and debt levels change, and some borrowing is normal - this is context, not a judgment.
What do The Trade Desk, Inc.'s numbers mean?
How has it performed?
Growth of £1,000, the worst fall, and year by year
Over about 2 years to 2026-09-11. This is the share price only; any dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.
How much has The Trade Desk, Inc. actually fallen?
Over the last 2 years of daily prices, The Trade Desk, Inc. fell as much as −91% from a high to a later low. Falls like this are normal when you own a share.
Past falls are not a forecast - it can fall further, or recover.
How has it done year by year?
Calendar-year total return - the share price with dividends reinvested - from adjusted closing prices. The current year is only part-complete. Past returns are not a guide to the future.
A closer look at the numbers
Ownership, earnings history, where the money goes, and the outlook range
Does the share price tell you if it's cheap or expensive?
Who owns The Trade Desk, Inc.?
About 83% of The Trade Desk, Inc., or about 83 in every 100 shares, is held by big institutions such as pension and index funds, and company insiders hold about 2%. The rest, roughly 15%, is held by the public and smaller investors.
What this does and doesn't tell you
This is a recent snapshot of the share register, and it moves. We don't read anything into who owns what - a high institutional share is common for any large listed company and is not a signal about it.
Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.
Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.
How much money does The Trade Desk, Inc. make?
Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.
Where does each £100 of The Trade Desk, Inc.'s sales go?
A rough split of the latest full-year figures: of every £100 of sales, about £23 covers making the product or service, £63 goes on running costs, tax and interest, and about £14 is left as profit. Margins vary a lot by industry, and one-off items can distort a single year.
When does The Trade Desk, Inc. report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?
The Trade Desk, Inc. is next scheduled to report on about 2026-11-05 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.
‘Beat’ and ‘missed’ are against what analysts expected, not whether the business is doing well.
| Reported | Expected EPS: The earnings per share analysts expected for the quarter - the average of their forecasts. 'Beating' or 'missing' is measured against this number. | Actual EPS | vs expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-06 | $0.40 | $0.34 | Missed -15% |
| 2026-05-07 | $0.32 | $0.28 | Missed -12% |
| 2026-02-25 | $0.58 | $0.59 | Beat +2% |
| 2025-11-06 | $0.44 | $0.45 | Beat +2% |
| 2025-08-07 | $0.41 | $0.41 | In line |
| 2025-05-08 | $0.25 | $0.33 | Beat +33% |
Across the last 6 quarters here, The Trade Desk, Inc. came in ahead of what analysts expected 3 times. One quarter is noise, not a trend.
See who else reports over the next two weeks →
Where these figures come from
Each quarter a company reports its results against a consensus of analyst forecasts. The figures here are reported versus expected earnings per share from published results; the expectation is that analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates and can move.
What are the scenarios for The Trade Desk, Inc.?
An illustrative range for the year ahead — not a prediction or a price target.
What are the pros, cons and common questions?
The case each way, and the questions people ask
it becomes the default independent platform for open-internet advertising as streaming ad budgets balloon
walled gardens and new rivals erode its role, or the open-internet ad model stalls
What are the pros and cons of The Trade Desk, Inc.?
A balance check, not a score or verdict.
- a leader in independent, open-internet ad buying, away from the Google/Meta walled gardens
- a strong position in fast-growing connected (streaming) TV advertising
- still profitable and growing, unlike many former high-fliers that fell as far
- the shares have been extremely volatile and have fallen sharply from their highs
- growth has slowed markedly from its earlier pace
- it competes with far larger giants (Amazon, Google, Meta) in advertising technology
- advertising spend is cyclical: A business whose sales and profits rise and fall with the wider economy - booming in good times, sinking in downturns. Miners, carmakers and banks are classic examples. and gets cut quickly in a downturn
- the big platforms could squeeze the open-internet advertising it depends on
- a slowdown in connected-TV adoption would hit a key growth engine
- even after the fall, expectations still leave room for disappointment
The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.
- revenue growth slowing further or turning negative
- profit margins compressing
- large advertisers moving budgets to the walled gardens
- management cutting its growth guidance
Common questions about The Trade Desk, Inc.
Does The Trade Desk, Inc. pay a dividend?
No - The Trade Desk, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend, so the return would rest on the share price. Many growing companies reinvest profits instead of paying them out.
When does The Trade Desk, Inc. report earnings next?
The Trade Desk, Inc. is next scheduled to report results on about 2026-11-05. Report dates are estimates and can move; this is a diary note for when to look, not a forecast of the outcome.
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