Shares of The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) plummeted in premarket trading Friday, dropping over 28%, after the company delivered second-quarter results that slightly exceeded expectations but failed to impress investors with its outlook.
The advertising tech firm reported adjusted earnings of 41 cents per share for the quarter ending June 30, just a penny above consensus forecasts. Revenue came in at $694 million, narrowly beating analyst estimates of $685.5 million.
For the third quarter, The Trade Desk projected revenue of at least $717 million—just above the $716.2 million expected by Wall Street.
The company also unveiled a significant executive change, naming board member Alex Kayyal as the incoming chief financial officer. He will assume the role on August 21, bringing experience from previous positions at Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Kayyal is stepping in for Laura Schenkein, who is stepping down after more than ten years with the company. She will remain through the end of the year to support the transition.
“Q2 results were better than Street models, but not against higher expectations following Meta/Google/Reddit results,” analysts at Stifel wrote in a note after earnings were released. “The Q3 outlook was in-line and the bigger driver of the after-hours move, in our view.”
They also noted, “All of this was accompanied by the announced CFO transition, which doesn’t help sentiment.”
Despite the market’s reaction, Stifel pointed out that the key focus remains on rising competition from Amazon’s DSP—a challenge that The Trade Desk does not appear to view as a serious threat. The firm believes the current results likely support that confidence.
Still, Stifel trimmed its price target on the stock, lowering it from $95 to $90.
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