Trade Desk scores earnings beat as it continues to ride momentum in connected TV

By Emily Bary

Ad-tech company's forecast tops the consensus view

Continued growth in advertisements on connected TV helped Trade Desk Inc. beat earnings expectations for the latest quarter when it reported results Wednesday afternoon.

The advertising-technology company (TTD) logged first-quarter net income of $32 million, or 6 cents a share, which was up from $9 million, or 2 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter.

On an adjusted basis, Trade Desk posted earnings per share of 26 cents, up from 23 cents a year before and ahead of the 22 cents that analysts tracked by FactSet had been modeling.

Revenue for the company rose to $491 million from $383 million and exceeded the consensus view, which called for $480 million.

Shares of Trade Desk rose 1.4% in Wednesday's extended session.

The company had 95%-plus customer retention in the first quarter, it said.

"Because we do not compete in content or supply, we have built lasting relationships with premium publishers to help brands confidently engage their audiences and drive measurable results," Trade Desk said of its connected-TV business in its earnings release.

See also: AppLovin's stock gains as earnings highlight improvements in app ad market

Trade Desk recently expanded its partnership with Walt Disney Co. (DIS), it noted. Additionally, Comcast Corp.'s (CMCSA) NBCUniversal will make Peacock's inventory for Summer Olympics ads available for programmatic purchasing through Trade Desk's platform.

"With the continued strong growth of [connected TV], the growing ubiquity of UID2, new approaches to authentication, greater deployment of first-party data and retail data, and with significant AI advances in our Kokai platform, we are better positioned than ever to deliver premium value to advertisers and continue to gain market share," Chief Executive Jeff Green said in a statement.

UID2 is Trade Desk's way of delivering measurement and tracking functions for advertisers, even as internet platforms get stricter when it comes to user privacy.

For the second quarter, Trade Desk expects at least $575 million in revenue, as well as roughly $223 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda. Analysts were looking for $567 million and $219 million, respectively.

-Emily Bary

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05-08-24 2039ET

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