TTD Earnings Preview: What to look for tonight
AInvestThursday, Aug 8, 2024 3:07 pm ET
2min read
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The Trade Desk (TTD) is set to report its Q2 earnings tonight, with analysts expecting adjusted EPS to grow 29% year-over-year to $0.36, and revenue to rise 25% year-over-year to $578 million. The company has previously provided guidance for Q2 revenue of at least $575 million and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $223 million. Analysts from Wedbush view TTD's Q2 guidance as conservative and expect the company to perform well, driven by positive advertiser feedback and strong demand trends, particularly in the Connected TV (CTV) segment.

Key drivers analysts are watching for include ongoing adoption and demand for CTV, political ad spend tailwinds in the second half of the year, expansion of partnerships with CTV publishers and retail media platforms, and the pace of international growth. Wedbush expects Q2 revenue of $583 million, slightly above consensus, and adjusted EBITDA of $230 million. Analysts believe TTD's strong market position, attractive margin profile, and effective execution of key initiatives justify its premium valuation relative to peers.

Piper Sandler remains optimistic despite recent tech stock pullbacks, noting that their checks indicate significant upside for TTD. They highlight the potential for increased political ad spend and see no risk to incremental 2025 growth drivers. Piper's positive outlook is based on the belief that the recent sell-off has de-risked the upcoming earnings announcement, with consensus expectations already accounting for sub-seasonal trends.

BTIG analysts are cautiously optimistic, with Q2 checks suggesting that while performance slightly lagged early quarter expectations, the overall story for TTD is improving. They expect high-20s revenue growth, in line with investor expectations, and see the potential for steady or accelerating growth as linear TV budgets shift to CTV. Access to new inventory from partnerships with Netflix, Disney, and others could add significant revenue in the future, helping TTD capture market share despite competition from Amazon.

Overall, analysts are closely watching TTD's Q2 performance, particularly in the CTV segment, which continues to drive growth. The company has a history of conservative guidance and rarely missing EPS targets, providing some confidence despite the recent challenges faced by peers. The anticipated strong performance in CTV and potential political ad spend tailwinds are expected to support TTD's results, even as the broader digital ad market faces uncertainties.

The Trade Desk (TTD) reported strong Q1 earnings, with EPS and revenue exceeding expectations. Revenue grew 28.3% year-over-year to $491.25 million, surpassing analyst forecasts, and the company provided optimistic Q2 revenue guidance. A key highlight from the earnings call was the continued robust growth in the Connected TV (CTV) segment, which remains TTD's fastest-growing channel. Major industry players like Disney, NBCUniversal, Walmart, Amazon, Roku, and LG Electronics have deepened their engagement with CTV, many in partnership with TTD. The company emphasized its extensive CTV inventory marketplace, which offers advertisers access to premium content across major networks and ad-supported streaming services globally. Significant partnerships, such as Disney's expansion with TTD for its Real-Time Ad Exchange and NBCUniversal's programmatic sales for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on Peacock, underline TTD's strong market position.

TTD also highlighted the importance of CTV in consumers' lives, noting the significant time spent on premium content compared to short-form social media videos. The company is advancing its support for Unified ID 2.0 (UID2), a privacy-conscious alternative to third-party cookies, with notable adoptions like Times Internet in India and DISH Media. Despite the strong performance, TTD's stock showed only modest gains, possibly due to its already positive trend since mid-January and the mixed performance of other online advertising firms this earnings season. Overall, the quarter was marked by solid growth driven by the CTV segment and strategic partnerships.

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