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TTD Global Momentum Increases as International Growth Overtakes U.S.
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Key Takeaways
TTD's international growth beat North America for the ninth straight quarter despite lower ad spend share.
CTV remains a key driver, with over 90M households reached and strong traction worldwide.
Two-thirds of clients now use Kokai, cutting costs and boosting efficiency ahead of full adoption this year.
In the last reported quarter, The Trade Desk’s (TTD - Free Report) “International growth again outpaced North America for the ninth quarter in a row,” marking a major milestone. While North America accounts for 88% of advertising spend, TTD is steadily expanding its global footprint, driven by faster-growing international markets in EMEA and APAC, which are gaining traction despite a 12% share. This increasing global presence offers clients localized marketplace expertise across key regions.
For the company, connected TV (CTV) remains a major driving force, and demonstrating strong performance across international markets. As audiences shift from traditional cable TV to streaming platforms, advertisers increasingly turn to programmatic CTV for its extensive reach. Trade Desk has capitalized on this trend with a vast reach of more than 90 million households and 120 CTV devices, solidifying its foothold in the fast-evolving digital TV landscape. This trend is growing globally, not just in the United States. Rising streaming in Europe and Asia drives more premium ad spending on Trade Desk’s platform.
Furthermore, TTD’s flagship products like Kokai, Unified ID 2.0 and OpenPath are gaining solid demand momentum as well. Management noted that two-thirds of its clients now use its AI platform, Kokai, with full adoption expected by year-end. Kokai helps cut costs, lowering the cost per conversion by 24% and the cost per acquisition by 20%.
For the current quarter, TTD acknowledged the uncertain macro environment and its adverse impact on large global brands. However, it remains optimistic about its business strength, supported by Kokai demand, and healthy international pipeline activities. For the second quarter of 2025, Trade Desk expects at least $682 million in revenues, implying 17% year-over-year growth, assuming stable market conditions. This outlook factors in the prior year's political ad spend boost of about 1%. Adjusted EBITDA is projected to be around $259 million.
Per a report by Precedence Research, the global digital ad spending market is projected to reach a hefty $1,483 billion by 2034, at a CAGR of 9.47% from 2025 to 2034. With global ad spend forecasted to grow, particularly in CTV and retail media, TTD is well-positioned to convert accelerating international momentum into a balanced global revenue base.
Who’s Challenging TTD in the Digital Ad Game?
Magnite Inc. (MGNI - Free Report) is seeing strong momentum in the CTV space, with CTV contribution excluding Traffic Acquisition Costs (ex-TAC) rising 19% year over year in 2024. For the full year, the company delivered $607 million in ex-TAC contribution and handled more than $6 billion in ad spend. This growth is fueled by rising programmatic adoption and ad investments from major players like Walmart, Disney, Fox, Roku, LG, Vizio, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount. Its expanded deal with Disney now covers live sports, global markets and podcasts, with Disney inventory added to ClearLine. It’s also growing its international sports reach with new partners like FIFA and Sky New Zealand. In 2025, more generative AI tools are set to boost efficiency and unlock new revenue streams.
Similar to Trade Desk, PubMatic, Inc. (PUBM - Free Report) is benefiting from the rise of CTV, strengthening its position in the fast-growing programmatic video space. The ongoing shift of ad spending from traditional TV to streaming, especially in a market that values flexible, spot-based buying, is expected to further support PubMatic’s growth. The company has already achieved more than 80% adoption among the top 30 streaming platforms. It is also growing in global markets, with strong results in India, Europe, Australia and Japan. It's expanded work with BBC and other broadcasters shows rising trust in its platform for streaming ad monetization.
TTD’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of TTD have plunged 28.7% in the past year compared with the Zacks Internet -Services industry’s fall of 4.3%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, TTD trades at a forward price-to-sales of 10.79X, higher than the industry’s average of 5.01X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TTD’s earnings has remained unchanged over the past 30 days.
Image: Bigstock
TTD Global Momentum Increases as International Growth Overtakes U.S.
Key Takeaways
In the last reported quarter, The Trade Desk’s (TTD - Free Report) “International growth again outpaced North America for the ninth quarter in a row,” marking a major milestone. While North America accounts for 88% of advertising spend, TTD is steadily expanding its global footprint, driven by faster-growing international markets in EMEA and APAC, which are gaining traction despite a 12% share. This increasing global presence offers clients localized marketplace expertise across key regions.
For the company, connected TV (CTV) remains a major driving force, and demonstrating strong performance across international markets. As audiences shift from traditional cable TV to streaming platforms, advertisers increasingly turn to programmatic CTV for its extensive reach. Trade Desk has capitalized on this trend with a vast reach of more than 90 million households and 120 CTV devices, solidifying its foothold in the fast-evolving digital TV landscape. This trend is growing globally, not just in the United States. Rising streaming in Europe and Asia drives more premium ad spending on Trade Desk’s platform.
Furthermore, TTD’s flagship products like Kokai, Unified ID 2.0 and OpenPath are gaining solid demand momentum as well. Management noted that two-thirds of its clients now use its AI platform, Kokai, with full adoption expected by year-end. Kokai helps cut costs, lowering the cost per conversion by 24% and the cost per acquisition by 20%.
The Trade Desk Price and Consensus
The Trade Desk price-consensus-chart | The Trade Desk Quote
For the current quarter, TTD acknowledged the uncertain macro environment and its adverse impact on large global brands. However, it remains optimistic about its business strength, supported by Kokai demand, and healthy international pipeline activities. For the second quarter of 2025, Trade Desk expects at least $682 million in revenues, implying 17% year-over-year growth, assuming stable market conditions. This outlook factors in the prior year's political ad spend boost of about 1%. Adjusted EBITDA is projected to be around $259 million.
Per a report by Precedence Research, the global digital ad spending market is projected to reach a hefty $1,483 billion by 2034, at a CAGR of 9.47% from 2025 to 2034. With global ad spend forecasted to grow, particularly in CTV and retail media, TTD is well-positioned to convert accelerating international momentum into a balanced global revenue base.
Who’s Challenging TTD in the Digital Ad Game?
Magnite Inc. (MGNI - Free Report) is seeing strong momentum in the CTV space, with CTV contribution excluding Traffic Acquisition Costs (ex-TAC) rising 19% year over year in 2024. For the full year, the company delivered $607 million in ex-TAC contribution and handled more than $6 billion in ad spend. This growth is fueled by rising programmatic adoption and ad investments from major players like Walmart, Disney, Fox, Roku, LG, Vizio, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount. Its expanded deal with Disney now covers live sports, global markets and podcasts, with Disney inventory added to ClearLine. It’s also growing its international sports reach with new partners like FIFA and Sky New Zealand. In 2025, more generative AI tools are set to boost efficiency and unlock new revenue streams.
Similar to Trade Desk, PubMatic, Inc. (PUBM - Free Report) is benefiting from the rise of CTV, strengthening its position in the fast-growing programmatic video space. The ongoing shift of ad spending from traditional TV to streaming, especially in a market that values flexible, spot-based buying, is expected to further support PubMatic’s growth. The company has already achieved more than 80% adoption among the top 30 streaming platforms. It is also growing in global markets, with strong results in India, Europe, Australia and Japan. It's expanded work with BBC and other broadcasters shows rising trust in its platform for streaming ad monetization.
TTD’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of TTD have plunged 28.7% in the past year compared with the Zacks Internet -Services industry’s fall of 4.3%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, TTD trades at a forward price-to-sales of 10.79X, higher than the industry’s average of 5.01X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TTD’s earnings has remained unchanged over the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
TTD currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.