The Trade Desk Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results

Published: 2026-05-07 16:02:08 ET TTD

Published on 05/07/2026 at 04:02 pm EDT

The Trade Desk, Inc. (“The Trade Desk,” the “Company” or “we”) (NASDAQ: TTD), a provider of a global technology platform for buyers of advertising, today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2026.

“Q1 was another strong quarter for The Trade Desk, with revenue growing to $689 million, representing 12% year-over-year growth,” said Jeff Green, CEO and Co-Founder of The Trade Desk. “We’re encouraged by the impact of the strategic upgrades we’ve been making across the company, which contributed to our outperformance in Q1. Despite headwinds in the macro environment, we remain confident in our ability to lead and innovate within the programmatic ecosystem. We’re focused on delivering increasing value to marketers and to help them prioritize objective, transparent and data-driven media buying on the open internet.”

First Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights:

The following table summarizes the Company’s unaudited consolidated financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025 ($ in millions, except per share amounts):

Three Months Ended

March 31,

2026

2025

GAAP Results

Revenue

689

616

Increase in revenue year over year

Net income

Net income margin

GAAP diluted earnings per share

0.08

0.10

Non-GAAP Results

Adjusted EBITDA

206

208

Adjusted EBITDA margin

Non-GAAP net income

134

165

Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share

0.28

0.33

First Quarter and Recent Business Highlights:

Financial Guidance:

Second Quarter 2026 outlook summary:

The Company has not provided an outlook for GAAP net income or reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA guidance to net income, the closest corresponding U.S. GAAP measure, because net income outlook is not available without unreasonable efforts on a forward-looking basis due to the variability and complexity with respect to the charges included in the calculation of this GAAP measure; in particular, the measures and effects of our stock-based compensation expense that are directly impacted by unpredictable fluctuations in our share price. The Company expects the variability of the above charges could have a significant and potentially unpredictable impact on our future U.S. GAAP financial results.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

Included within this press release are the non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, Non-GAAP net income and Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) that supplement the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations of the Company prepared under generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Adjusted EBITDA is net income before depreciation and amortization expense; stock-based compensation expense; interest income, net; and provision for income taxes. Adjusted EBITDA margin is Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue, and Adjusted EBITDA margin’s closest corresponding U.S. GAAP measure is net income margin, which is GAAP net income divided by revenue. Non-GAAP net income excludes charges and the related income tax effects for stock-based compensation. Tax rates on the tax-deductible portions of the stock-based compensation expense approximating 25% to 30% have been used in the computation of non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted EPS. Reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP amounts for the periods presented herein are provided in schedules accompanying this release and should be considered together with the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. These non-GAAP measures are not meant as a substitute for GAAP, but are included solely for informational and comparative purposes. The Company’s management believes that this information can assist investors in evaluating the Company's profitability, operational trends and financial performance. Management believes these non-GAAP measures allow investors to evaluate the Company’s financial performance using some of the same measures as management and securities analysts. However, the non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation of, as a replacement for, or as superior to corresponding, similarly captioned, GAAP measures and may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.

First Quarter 2026 Financial Results Webcast and Conference Call Details

The Trade Desk, Inc. uses its Investor Relations website (http://investors.thetradedesk.com), its X feed (@TheTradeDesk), LinkedIn page (https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-trade-desk), Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheTradeDesk) and Jeff Green’s LinkedIn profile (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jefftgreen) as a means of disclosing information about the Company and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. The information that is posted through these channels may be deemed material. Accordingly, investors should monitor these channels in addition to The Trade Desk’s press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls and webcasts.

About The Trade Desk

The Trade Desk™ is a technology company that empowers buyers of advertising. Through its self-service, cloud-based platform, ad buyers can create, manage, and optimize digital advertising campaigns across ad formats and devices. Integrations with major data, inventory, and publisher partners ensure maximum reach and decisioning capabilities, and enterprise APIs enable custom development on top of the platform. Headquartered in Ventura, CA, The Trade Desk has offices across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more, visit thetradedesk.com or follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to expectations concerning matters that (a) are not historical facts, (b) predict or forecast future events or results, or (c) embody assumptions that may prove to have been inaccurate, including statements relating to industry and market trends, the Company’s growth and financial targets, such as revenue and Adjusted EBITDA. When words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “will,” “outlook” or similar expressions are used, the Company is making forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot give readers any assurance that such expectations will prove correct. These forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those related to the Company’s ability to maintain and grow its client base and revenue through its platform and related offerings, which makes it difficult to evaluate the Company’s business and prospects, the market for programmatic advertising developing slower or differently than the Company’s expectations, the demands and expectations of clients and the ability to attract and retain clients. The actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. These are disclosed in the Company’s reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Form 10-K and any subsequent filings on Forms 10-Q or 8-K, available at www.sec.gov. Readers are urged not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company does not intend to update any forward-looking statement contained in this press release to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date hereof.

THE TRADE DESK, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended March 31,

2026

2025

Revenue

688,857

616,021

Operating expenses (1):

Platform operations

181,970

142,839

Sales and marketing

172,179

152,743

Technology and development

142,720

132,402

General and administrative

125,341

133,585

Total operating expenses

622,210

561,569

Income from operations

66,647

54,452

Other expense (income):

Total other income, net

(12,311

)

(21,317

)

Income before income taxes

78,958

75,769

Provision for income taxes

38,961

25,091

Net income

39,997

50,678

Earnings per share:

Basic

0.08

0.10

Diluted

0.08

0.10

Weighted-average shares outstanding:

Basic

474,663

494,927

Diluted

476,883

502,944

(1)

Includes stock-based compensation expense as follows:

THE TRADE DESK, INC.

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION EXPENSE

(Amounts in thousands)

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended March 31,

2026

2025

Platform operations

8,398

9,217

Sales and marketing

27,018

28,936

Technology and development

40,783

40,981

General and administrative (1)

32,847

49,119

Total

109,046

128,253

(1)

Includes stock-based compensation expense related to a long-term CEO performance grant of $5 million and $24 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, respectively.

THE TRADE DESK, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Amounts in thousands)

(Unaudited)

As of March 31, 2026

As of December 31, 2025

ASSETS

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

878,377

658,175

Short-term investments, net

527,538

644,882

Accounts receivable, net

3,323,673

3,770,194

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

132,075

187,753

Total current assets

4,861,663

5,261,004

Property and equipment, net

389,385

396,819

Operating lease assets

326,285

342,042

Deferred income taxes

55,700

Other assets, non-current

101,351

97,655

Total assets

5,734,384

6,153,220

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable

2,633,030

3,007,651

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

179,907

181,991

Operating lease liabilities

77,505

76,355

Total current liabilities

2,890,442

3,265,997

Operating lease liabilities, non-current

346,070

359,975

Other liabilities, non-current

44,386

42,857

Total liabilities

3,280,898

3,668,829

Stockholders’ equity:

Preferred stock

—

Common stock

—

Additional paid-in capital

3,178,436

3,075,303

Accumulated deficit

(724,950

)

(590,912

)

Total stockholders’ equity

2,453,486

2,484,391

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

5,734,384

6,153,220

THE TRADE DESK, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Amounts in thousands)

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended March 31,

2026

2025

OPERATING ACTIVITIES:

Net income

39,997

50,678

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

Depreciation and amortization expense

31,431

23,985

Stock-based compensation expense

109,046

128,253

Noncash lease expense

18,640

16,962

Provision for expected credit losses on accounts receivable

4,026

492

Other

6,302

(11,876

)

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

Accounts receivable

429,285

282,336

Prepaid expenses and other current and non-current assets

58,531

20,018

Accounts payable

(279,385

)

(234,666

)

Accrued expenses and other current and non-current liabilities

(8,951

)

29,105

Operating lease liabilities

(17,117

)

(13,854

)

Net cash provided by operating activities

391,805

291,433

INVESTING ACTIVITIES:

Purchases of investments

(122,061

)

(231,580

)

Maturities of investments

238,297

165,114

Purchases of property and equipment

(112,741

)

(59,113

)

Capitalized software development costs

(3,029

)

(2,660

)

Business acquisition

—

(4,350

)

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

466

(132,589

)

FINANCING ACTIVITIES:

Repurchases of Class A common stock

(163,514

)

(386,250

)

Proceeds from exercise of stock options

2,094

7,940

Taxes paid relating to net settlement of restricted stock

(10,649

)

(31,452

)

Net cash used in financing activities

(172,069

)

(409,762

)

Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

220,202

(250,918

)

Cash and cash equivalents—Beginning of period

658,175

1,369,463

Cash and cash equivalents—End of period

878,377

1,118,545

Non-GAAP Financial Metrics

(Amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

The following tables show the Company’s non-GAAP financial metrics reconciled to the comparable GAAP financial metrics included in this release.

Three Months Ended

March 31,

2026

2025

Net income

39,997

50,678

Add back (deduct):

Depreciation and amortization expense

31,431

23,985

Stock-based compensation expense

109,046

128,253

Interest income, net

(13,369

)

(20,132

)

Provision for income taxes

38,961

25,091

Adjusted EBITDA

206,066

207,875

Three Months Ended

March 31,

2026

2025

GAAP net income

39,997

50,678

Add back (deduct):

Stock-based compensation expense

109,046

128,253

Adjustment for income taxes

(14,822

)

(13,938

)

Non-GAAP net income

134,221

164,993

GAAP diluted earnings per share

0.08

0.10

GAAP weighted-average shares outstanding—diluted

476,883

502,944

Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share

0.28

0.33

Non-GAAP weighted-average shares used in computing Non-GAAP earnings per share, diluted

476,883

502,944

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