The Trade Desk’s TTD growing joint business partnership (“JBP”) activity was a notable development during its first-quarter 2026 earnings call. The company reported a 55% increase in JBP count, with new deal spend (excluding renewals) up 40% year over year. It signed about 45 deals in March alone.
The momentum reflects demand from large global brands seeking more effective measurable and data-driven ad solutions. Citing an example, management noted that it regained business from a large advertiser in the pharmaceutical sector that had previously shifted spending to Amazon’s AMZN advertising platform. Trade Desk stated that the new 2026 JBP with this client is expected to increase spending on its platform by 114% year over year.
TTD operates a leading demand-side platform that helps advertisers focus on data-driven ads. The company stressed that the ad market is worth $1 trillion TAM and, eventually, most ad dollars will become data-driven.
TTD continues to emphasize that its independent demand-side platform and objectivity are key competitive strengths in the evolving digital advertising market. The company reiterated that its platform does not own media inventory, allowing it to focus on optimizing client outcomes.
Beyond JBPs, Trade Desk is investing in areas such as connected TV (“CTV”), international expansion, retail media and agentic AI tools. However, a volatile macro environment, rising costs and intensifying competition from the likes of Amazon and Magnite MGNI and others remain concerning. For the second quarter, revenues are expected to be at least $750 million, indicating just 8% growth from the prior-year quarter.
Mapping the Competitive Terrain
Amazon is a strong competitor to TTD in the ad space. Amazon Ads delivered $17.2 billion in revenues in the first quarter, up 22% year over year. The business is being driven by its full-funnel offerings, combining trillions of shopping, browsing and streaming signals with cutting-edge AI to deliver relevant ads.
Ads are still a relatively small share of Amazon’s total revenue base compared with retail and AWS, implying ample room to scale. Investors should note that AMZN’s business diversification, especially retail, cloud and AI, with stupendous financial resources, gives it an edge over rivals. As of March 31, 2026, cash and cash equivalents totaled $101.8 billion, while long-term debt totaled $119.1 billion.
Magnite’s revenue growth is driven by CTV. The CTV contribution ex-TAC was up 30% year over year, now accounting for 51% of the total revenue. The company noted that the top 10 accounts grew in the mid-30% range year over year. The rest of the base was up in the mid-20s percentage range. It works with some of the biggest names in the industry, such as Roku, Netflix, Paramount, VIZIO, Walmart and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Higher uptake of its ClearLine platform and the launch of SpringServe (CTV ad serving and SSP platform) bode well. The SpringServe platform has grown into a full CTV operating system, integrating ad serving, mediation and monetization.
TTD Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of TTD have edged up 0.6% in the past month, while the Zacks Internet – Services industry has gained 15.3%.
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In terms of forward price/earnings, TTD’s shares are trading at 9.79X, lower than the Internet Services industry’s ratio of 26.27X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TTD’s earnings for 2026 has been marginally revised downwards over the past 60 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.
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