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Access earnings results, analyst expectations, report, slides, earnings call, and transcript.
The earnings call reflects strong financial performance with significant revenue growth and a robust cash position. The company is advancing in AI and international markets, and strategic partnerships are expanding. Despite a slight deceleration in Q4 guidance, the overall outlook remains optimistic with a focus on retail media and CTV growth. Share repurchase activities also indicate confidence. The Q&A session highlighted strategic focus areas and industry positioning, boosting the positive sentiment.
Revenue $739 million, representing 18% year-over-year growth. Excluding political spend related to last year's U.S. elections, revenue increased approximately 22% year-over-year. The growth reflects continued capture of incremental advertiser wallet share among large global brands.
Adjusted EBITDA $317 million, or about 43% of revenue. This reflects strong top-line performance and operational efficiency.
Video (including CTV) Represented around 50% of the business in Q3 and continues to grow as a percentage of the channel mix. CTV has been consistently growing at a faster rate than the overall business.
Mobile Represented a low 30s percentage share of the business during the quarter.
Display Represented a low double-digit share of the business during the quarter.
Audio Represented around 5% of the business during the quarter. Expected to grow as a percentage of mix due to its premium authenticated nature.
Geographical Revenue North America represented 87% of the business in Q3, while international represented about 13%. Growth across international business continues to outpace growth in North America.
Operating Expenses (excluding stock-based compensation) $457 million, up 17% from a year ago. Investments were made in team and platform, particularly in areas like platform operations.
Income Tax Expense $64 million, driven primarily by profitability and stock-based awards.
Adjusted Net Income $221 million, or $0.45 per diluted share.
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities $225 million in Q3.
Free Cash Flow $155 million in Q3.
DSOs (Days Sales Outstanding) 92 days, up 3 days from a year ago.
DPOs (Days Payable Outstanding) 77 days, up 3 days from a year ago.
Cash and Liquidity Position $1.4 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments at the end of the quarter. No debt on the balance sheet.
Share Repurchase Program $310 million of cash used to repurchase Class A common stock in Q3. Since 2023, nearly $2 billion has been repurchased, offsetting dilution and reducing shares outstanding.
Kokai adoption: Nearly 85% of clients are using Kokai as their default experience, delivering significant performance improvements such as 26% better cost per acquisition, 58% better cost per unique reach, and 94% better click-through rate compared to Solimar.
AI-driven innovations: The company has introduced distributed AI architecture, enhancing functions like impression valuation, identity management, and supply path optimization. New features like trading modes and Audience Unlimited have been launched to improve campaign performance and data usage.
OpenPath and OpenAds: OpenPath has grown by hundreds of percentage points, improving transparency and efficiency in inventory buying. OpenAds, a new auction system, has already secured commitments from 20 major publishers.
International growth: International business is growing faster than North America, with strong momentum in EMEA and APAC regions. These regions represent 13% of the business and are outpacing North American growth.
Vertical diversification: Strong growth observed in medical health, automotive, and technology sectors, with new client wins in insurance, financial services, and telecommunications.
Leadership changes: New COO, CFO, and CRO have been appointed, driving operational improvements, better coordination, and enhanced accountability.
Operational efficiency: Streamlined go-to-market organization and implemented data-driven culture, improving execution and scaling predictability.
Focus on open Internet: The company is emphasizing the open Internet as a superior alternative to walled gardens, leveraging AI to enhance price discovery and supply chain efficiency.
Retail media and CTV: Retail media is scaling rapidly, and CTV remains the largest and fastest-growing channel, outpacing overall business growth.
Market Conditions: The imbalance between supply and demand in digital advertising continues to grow, creating a buyer's market. This could pressure pricing and margins for the company.
Competitive Pressures: Big tech competitors like Google, Amazon, and Facebook are prioritizing their owned and operated inventory, which could limit opportunities for The Trade Desk in the open Internet space. Additionally, these competitors have significant resources and market influence.
Regulatory Hurdles: The ongoing antitrust trial of the Department of Justice versus Google highlights potential regulatory scrutiny in the digital advertising space, which could impact The Trade Desk's operations or market dynamics.
Economic Uncertainties: While not explicitly mentioned, the reliance on advertising budgets, which are often tied to broader economic conditions, could pose risks during economic downturns or periods of reduced marketing spend.
Strategic Execution Risks: The company has undergone significant leadership changes, including a new COO, CFO, and CRO. While these changes aim to improve operations, they also introduce risks related to execution and alignment during the transition period.
Supply Chain Disruptions: Issues with auction integrity and obfuscation by sell-side players could disrupt the supply chain, impacting the company's ability to deliver value to advertisers.
Shift to biddable CTV: The company expects decision CTV to become the default buying model in the years ahead due to its advantages in flexibility, control, and performance.
Retail media growth: Retail media is scaling rapidly with strong adoption across verticals, and the company anticipates more shopper marketing budgets flowing into programmatic channels.
AI-driven improvements: AI is accelerating the effectiveness of the open Internet, improving price discovery, and enhancing supply chains. The company expects AI to play a significant role in driving better ad performance and efficiency.
International growth: The company is experiencing faster growth outside the U.S., particularly in EMEA and APAC, and expects this trend to continue as 60% of the TAM is outside the U.S.
Audio and CTV growth: Audio and CTV are expected to grow as a percentage of the channel mix, driven by their premium and authenticated nature.
Product innovations: New products like Kokai, OpenPath, OpenAds, and Deal Desk are expected to drive significant growth and improve supply chain efficiency in the coming years.
Q4 2025 revenue guidance: The company expects Q4 revenue to be at least $840 million, representing approximately 18.5% year-over-year growth excluding U.S. political ad spend.
2026 outlook: The company is well-positioned to grow its share of the $1 trillion advertising TAM, driven by CTV transformation, AI applications, retail media expansion, and international programmatic buying.
Share Repurchase Program: In Q3, the company used $310 million of cash to repurchase Class A common stock via the share repurchase program. Since the first authorization in 2023, the company has repurchased nearly $2 billion through the program, effectively offsetting dilution and reducing shares outstanding. In October, the remaining amount from the January authorization was deployed, and the Board of Directors approved a new authorization of $500 million. The company will continue to evaluate opportunistic repurchases as part of its capital allocation strategy.
The earnings call reflects strong financial performance with significant revenue growth and a robust cash position. The company is advancing in AI and international markets, and strategic partnerships are expanding. Despite a slight deceleration in Q4 guidance, the overall outlook remains optimistic with a focus on retail media and CTV growth. Share repurchase activities also indicate confidence. The Q&A session highlighted strategic focus areas and industry positioning, boosting the positive sentiment.
The earnings call highlights strong financial metrics, product innovation, and strategic partnerships, along with optimistic guidance and confidence in market share gains. Despite some concerns in the Q&A about competitive pressures and specific segment performance, the overall sentiment remains positive, supported by the accelerated adoption of Kokai and strategic focus on long-term growth. The lack of specific data on ad spend shifts is a minor issue, but the overall outlook suggests a positive stock price movement.
The earnings call reveals strong financial performance with a 25% revenue increase and a 34% EBITDA margin. Positive developments include AI investments, a strategic acquisition, and an ongoing share repurchase program. Despite macroeconomic uncertainties, management is optimistic about growth and competitive positioning. The Q&A section highlights favorable market dynamics due to antitrust rulings against competitors. However, increased operating expenses and economic headwinds are concerns. Overall, the sentiment is positive, with potential stock price appreciation driven by strong earnings, optimistic guidance, and shareholder returns.
The earnings call summary highlights strong financial performance, including a 25% revenue increase and significant share repurchases, indicating confidence in the company's value. The Q&A section suggests positive sentiment towards product and market strategy changes, with reduced competition from Google seen as a victory. However, economic uncertainties and competitive pressures are acknowledged. Overall, the positive financial metrics, strategic initiatives, and optimistic outlook outweigh the risks, suggesting a positive stock price movement over the next two weeks.
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