Why did Trade Desk Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:TTD) strong quarterly performance fail to impress investors, sending its stock plummeting? As analysts weigh in, the results reveal a deeper narrative about the company’s future growth prospects and market position.
Shares of Trade Desk tanked in early trading on Friday, despite the company reporting upbeat second-quarter revenues on Thursday.
- TTD is experiencing unusually high volume. Track live prices here.
The announcement came amid an exciting earnings season. Here are some key analyst takeaways.
BofA Securities On Trade Desk
Analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich downgraded the rating from Buy to Underperform, while slashing the price target from $130 to $55.
There had been concerns around whether Trade Desk could sustain long-term growth of 20% to support its premium valuation, Reif Ehrlich said in the downgrade note. The company’s third-quarter outlook, which implies "a deceleration in underlying growth," fuels these concerns, especially since its peers reported robust advertising growth, she added.
"While we see several potential long-term growth drivers for TTD, visibility into the timing and magnitude of these benefits is limited," the analyst wrote. She lowered the 2025 revenue and adjusted EBITDA projections from $2.88 billion to $2.86 billion and from $1.14 billion to $1.12 billion, respectively.
RBC Capital Markets On Trade Desk
Analyst Matthew Swanson maintained an Outperform rating, while reducing the price target of $100 to $90.
Trade Desk reported strong quarterly results, with upside to revenue and adjusted EBITDA, Swanson said. "Investors focused on the scale of the beat as diminishing macro concerns raised expectations into the print," he wrote.
While management's guidance was "underwhelming," in view of macro uncertainties, several trends suggested re-accelerating growth in 2026, the analyst stated. Although the company is more susceptible to tariffs, the underlying trends around CTV, JBPs and Kokai could gain momentum into 2026, he added.
Check out other analyst stock ratings.
DA Davidson On Trade Desk
Analyst Tom White reaffirmed a Buy rating, while reducing the price target from $92 to $80.
Trade Desk reported revenues of $694 million, beating the consensus of $685 million, with EBITDA of $270.8 million topping expectations of $261 million, White said. Management's third-quarter guidance of at least $717 million came in slightly higher than the consensus of $716 million, while the EBITDA guidance was in line, he added.
The company announced the surprise departure of its CFO Laura Schenkein, who is to be replaced by early investor Alex Kayyal, the analyst stated. Although Trade Desk is witnessing some headwinds due to tariff uncertainty, "the company remains extremely well-positioned to leverage the broader secular trend of CTV ad spend growth," he further wrote.
Rosenblatt Securities On Trade Desk
Analyst Barton Crockett reiterated a Buy rating and price target of $78.
Trade Desk's revenues grew 18.7% year-on-year in the second quarter, representing a slowdown from the 25% growth reported in the previous quarter, Crockett said. While adjusted EBITDA of $271 million topped consensus by around 4%, this was much less than the 40% beat in the first quarter, he added.
Although the company indicated rapid growth in CTV, it did not provide the growth rate, the analyst stated. "The Trade Desk remains a strong business, but a slower grower now than in years past," he further wrote.
TTD Price Action: Trade Desk shares were down 39.13% at $53.76 at the time of publication on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro.
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