Ad-tech stocks split sharply Thursday: Magnite jumped 18% on a beat-and-raise second quarter, while AppLovin sank 20% after its first guidance miss since going public. Trade Desk fell 6% in sympathy despite no company-specific news.
Ad-tech stocks moved in opposite directions midday Thursday as traders separated earnings winners from disappointments. Magnite shares surged 18% to $24.33 after a beat-and-raise second-quarter report. AppLovin stock crashed 20% to $335.84 on a mixed print that fell short of expectations. Trade Desk shares slid 6% to $17.77 despite no fresh company news, pulled down in sympathy with AppLovin. The split shows traders rewarding connected-TV strength and punishing any sign of mobile ad-model deceleration.
Magnite raises guidance on CTV strength
Magnite reported Q2 2026 adjusted EPS of $0.26, topping the $0.15 consensus and up from $0.20 a year earlier. Revenue of $189.6 million beat expectations and rose from $162 million a year ago. Management raised full-year guidance, citing accelerating CTV growth, market-share gains, improving profitability and new agentic AI capabilities.
CEO Michael G. Barrett said the company is "uniquely positioned between supply and demand" as it leans into agentic ad tools. BTIG raised its price target to $27 from $20 with a Buy rating, while Susquehanna lifted its target to $30 from $22. Magnite stock entered Thursday up 27% year to date.
AppLovin misses guidance midpoint for the first time
AppLovin posted Q2 2026 revenue of $1,924 million, up 53% year over year. Net income reached $1,267 million with adjusted EBITDA of $1,614 million. Diluted EPS came in at $3.76 and free cash flow hit $863.3 million.
The company slightly missed the midpoint of its revenue and EBITDA guidance for the first time since its IPO, tied to temporary gaming ad-model timing challenges. Its Q3 guidance of $2.055 billion to $2.085 billion in revenue implies an 83% adjusted EBITDA margin, a step down from 84% this quarter.
Analysts cut targets in response. Piper Sandler downgraded the stock to Neutral with a $385 target, down from $665. Wells Fargo moved to Equal Weight at $357 from $575, citing a plateau in mobile-game share.
Trade Desk falls in sympathy, no fresh catalyst
Trade Desk shares fell 6% to $17.77 Thursday without any company-specific news, a sympathy move tied to AppLovin's slide and broader mobile ad-tech concerns. The stock entered the session down 50% year to date, among the worst ad-tech performers of 2026.
Prediction-market traders on Polymarket are pricing a 43% probability that Trade Desk beats its next earnings report. The Street models roughly $751.5 million in revenue for that report.
Source: 24/7 Wall St.
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