Trade Desk shares tumbled in after-hours trading Thursday after the digital-advertising company posted a second-quarter revenue and earnings miss alongside weak third-quarter guidance. The results extend a year-long slide that has already erased more than half the stock's value in 2026, as slowing growth and a lingering dispute with ad agency Publicis Groupe weigh on the business.
Revenue growth slows to a crawl
Trade Desk's growth struggles deepened in the second quarter, and the company posted an earnings and revenue miss combined with disappointing guidance. Shares fell 23% in after-market trading Thursday following the results, extending the stock's year-long slide.
The company posted revenue of $715 million for the June quarter, short of the $752 million analysts polled by FactSet had expected, and growth of just 3% year over year. That compares with 19% growth in the same quarter a year earlier. Adjusted earnings of 34 cents per share also missed consensus estimates of 40 cents.
According to MarketWatch, CEO Jeff Green said: "This quarter did not meet the standard we set for ourselves"
Weak guidance adds to the pressure
Management forecast third-quarter revenue of $650 million, well below Wall Street's $807 million estimate, with adjusted EBITDA of approximately $160 million. Consumer packaged goods and auto companies make up 25% of Trade Desk's business and have been hit hard by tariffs and oil prices, Green said on the earnings call. He added that artificial intelligence is reshaping the advertising industry in ways that will likely bring more competition.
Down 53% this year, Trade Desk is now the second-worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 in 2026. Its forward earnings multiple has compressed to 16, down from nearly 90 a year ago, according to FactSet.
Publicis dispute still weighs on results
A drawn-out fee dispute with advertising agency Publicis Groupe has also hurt revenue. A third-party audit commissioned by Publicis in March accused Trade Desk of levying hidden fees, prompting the agency to remove Trade Desk from its recommended platform list and urge clients to pause spending.
The two companies reached an agreement in June, but it remains unclear whether revenue will return to predispute levels, Benchmark analyst Mark Zgutowicz wrote in a Thursday note.
Shares were already lower before the report
Trade Desk had already slipped during the regular session, closing at $17.67, down 6.80%, for a market capitalization of $8.9 billion, before the after-hours slide. Among advertising-technology peers, Magnite closed up 17.66% at $24.32. PubMatic slipped 0.22% to $13.48, pointing to a split in the sector's reaction.
Sources: MarketWatch, The Motley Fool
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