The Trade Desk, Inc. TTD is benefiting from the continued momentum in connected TV (CTV), which remains one of the company's key long-term growth drivers. On the last earnings call, management highlighted that the transition of linear television to CTV is still in its early stages, creating a significant opportunity as advertisers increasingly shift toward data-driven advertising.
The company noted that the total addressable market for advertising continues to expand, supported by trends such as retail media, AI-powered search and chatbots, while the migration from linear TV to CTV further strengthens its long-term outlook. Despite a more challenging macroeconomic environment marked by geopolitical tensions, tariffs and economic uncertainty, Trade Desk believes sophisticated advertisers are becoming more deliberate and data-driven, creating opportunities for its platform.
TTD highlighted that premium publishers are increasingly embracing programmatic advertising, better data and improved supply chains to enhance advertising effectiveness. Disney, one of the largest CTV advertising publishers, continues to benefit from biddable programmatic advertising, lower ad loads and a direct relationship with Trade Desk. NBCUniversal is also supporting initiatives that improve CTV price discovery and advertiser signals, while Netflix continues to expand its advertising capabilities through technological enhancements with Trade Desk. Management stated that these developments reinforce the value of premium inventory and support greater advertiser participation across CTV.
Trade Desk also emphasized that improvements in advertising measurement are expected to support broader adoption of premium channels, such as CTV and audio. The company believes traditional last-touch attribution methods have limited the effectiveness of branding campaigns and premium inventory. As advertisers adopt more advanced measurement approaches and AI-driven decision-making, management expects greater investment in CTV campaigns that focus on long-term brand building rather than simply optimizing for lower-funnel metrics.
The company's first-quarter 2026 performance also reflected the continued strength of CTV. Management stated that CTV growth remained strong, supported by the ongoing shift away from linear television and increasing decisioned inventory from major publishers. Video, including CTV, represented a low-50% share of the company's business during the quarter and continued to increase as a percentage of total channel mix. Going ahead, Trade Desk plans to continue investing in AI-driven decisioning, retail media, CTV and identity while strengthening its platform to support long-term growth and help advertisers achieve measurable outcomes.
Taking a Look at TTD’s Competitors
PubMatic, Inc. PUBM is gaining from accelerating AI adoption, expanding CTV and mobile app advertising, and a more diversified demand-side platform (DSP) base. Its AI-powered AgenticOS and Agentic advertising solutions are driving new revenue streams, improving campaign automation and increasing customer adoption. Growth in emerging revenues, CTV, mobile apps and Commerce Media, supported by partnerships with Amazon, Walmart Connect and PayPal, is strengthening the company's growth profile. PubMatic's owned infrastructure and AI-driven efficiencies are lowering costs and expanding margins, while its broader publisher network, global expansion and growing mid-market DSP relationships position the company for sustained double-digit revenue growth.
Amazon AMZN is gaining from aggressive international expansion, a diversified business model and broad-based AI adoption across its operations. International growth is being supported by continued investments in logistics infrastructure across Asia, Europe and Latin America, driving higher sales and improving profitability. Amazon Web Services remains a key growth engine, benefiting from rising cloud and AI demand, while the advertising business continues expanding as brands increase spending on its platform. The company is also integrating AI across AWS, logistics and e-commerce operations, enhancing efficiency, strengthening customer experiences and supporting long-term revenue growth and margin expansion across its businesses.
TTD’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of TTD have plunged 75.3% in the past year against the Zacks Internet -Services industry’s rise of 83.9%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Valuation-wise, TTD seems attractive, as suggested by the Value Score of B. From a valuation standpoint, TTD trades at a forward price-to-sales of 2.78X, lower than the industry’s average of 7.63X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TTD’s earnings has been revised upward 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.
Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here
The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.
See Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report
The Trade Desk (TTD): Free Stock Analysis Report
PubMatic, Inc. (PUBM): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).