The Trade Desk's $900M Volume Plunge Sends It to 85th in Market Activity

On September 12, 2025, The Trade Desk (TTD) recorded a trading volume of $0.90 billion, marking a 27.32% decline from the previous day’s volume. This placed the stock at the 85th position in terms of trading activity across the market. The stock closed with a 0.20% decline for the session.

To construct a precise back-test, several operational parameters require clarification. The selection universe must be defined—whether limited to U.S.-listed common stocks on major exchanges or expanded globally. If restricted to U.S. equities, the inclusion of OTC, ADRs, and SPACs must be addressed. Trade execution timing also needs specification: standard daily rebalancing typically ranks on the day’s close, enters the next day’s open, and exits at the following day’s close. Alternatively, a strategy might prefer ranking and entering on the same close, then exiting the next day’s close.

Transaction costs and slippage should be considered. While excluding these factors simplifies analysis, incorporating a per-trade commission (e.g., 0.01%) or a fixed bid-ask spread assumption could enhance accuracy. Practical volume ranking is another critical element. The "top 500 by volume" approach frequently includes large-cap names from indices like the S&P 500. To optimize efficiency, a liquid universe such as the Russell 3000 can serve as the baseline for ranking, avoiding the computational burden of a full exhaustive ranking of all U.S. tickers. Finalizing these parameters will ensure the back-test aligns with the intended strategy.