The Trade Desk reported third-quarter revenue of $736 million on November 9, against $739 million a year earlier, and guided the fourth quarter to at least $755 million.
What the quarter shows
The figures come from the company’s third quarter results, filed with the SEC as an exhibit to a Form 8-K. Revenue fell 0.5% year over year, after growth of 18% in the third quarter of 2025. For the nine months to September 30, revenue was $2,140 million, up 4%, compared with 20% growth in the same period a year earlier.
Profit moved by more than revenue did. Net income was $38 million against $116 million, a net income margin of 5% against 16%. Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, was $266 million against $317 million, a margin of 36% against 43%. In the financial statements attached to the release, total operating expenses were $643.4 million against $578.2 million, and income from operations was $92.6 million against $161.2 million. The company excludes charges from a 2026 Restructuring Plan from adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net income, and says there was no comparable plan in the prior periods.
Customer retention stayed above 95%, which the company says has been true for over a decade.
What the company says it is doing
CEO Jeff Green framed the quarter in a single sentence: “Q3 represented meaningful progress, with results well ahead of our expectations entering the quarter, but we are still operating below the level of growth we expect from ourselves.” He listed the response as “greater urgency” in how the company engages its largest customers, platform work such as Kokai Zuma, Audience Unlimited and agentic AI, and what he called a new approach to measurement designed to show marketers what is driving business growth.
The release lists the specifics. Kokai Zuma is the latest Kokai release, with agentic AI capabilities and a revised interface. The company expanded healthcare measurement integrations with Veeva Crossix and IQVIA Digital. Kijji made its first-party consumer intent data available for programmatic activation through the platform for the first time, covering Canadian marketplace signals in categories including automotive, real estate and home goods. OptimizeRx is bringing authenticated healthcare professional reach through OpenPath, LoopMe announced a brand lift measurement integration, and Olyzon launched an agentic orchestration platform with agents live across DSPs including The Trade Desk.
Connected TV is where the new supply is
Most of the named announcements sit in connected TV. Netflix expanded its integration with The Trade Desk, so that from November advertisers can use first-party and third-party data to target audiences on Netflix through Kokai. The release says in-platform measurement is expected to follow, and that Netflix also joined the company’s Sellers and Publishers 500+ list. In Italy the company added access to Pause Ads on HBO Max and Discovery+. Gracenote, a Nielsen company, announced its first DSP integration with The Trade Desk, with show-level CTV targeting and reporting.
The same quarter’s reports from other ad tech companies put CTV at the center of their growth, as we covered in Four Ad Tech Q3 Reports Share One Growing Line: Connected TV and in Magnite Reports 39% CTV Growth in Q3 and Raises Its 2026 Outlook. The Trade Desk’s release does not give a CTV revenue figure, so the size of its own CTV business in the quarter is not something the filing lets a reader check.
Cash and capital
Cash and cash equivalents were $1,229 million at September 30, against $658 million at December 31, 2025, while short-term investments fell from $645 million to $420 million. The board approved an additional $731 million for share repurchases, which brings the total available to $1 billion; about $269 million was available at the end of the quarter. For the fourth quarter the company expects revenue of at least $755 million and adjusted EBITDA of at least $280 million.
What it means for the marketing leader
A buyer reading this release gets three practical facts. The first is that The Trade Desk describes its own growth as below the level it expects, in the CEO’s words, so a plan that assumes more programmatic budget flowing through one platform has no growth to lean on from that vendor’s side. The second is that the new capabilities are mostly in agentic buying and in CTV inventory, and both depend on access to data and measurement that sit with someone else: Netflix says measurement is expected to follow, and Kijji’s intent data is Canadian marketplace signal. The third is that the company’s stated measurement direction is a promise for a later date. We made a related point about agent-run supply in Ask Agent-Run Supply Deals for a Change Log Before You Raise the Budget.
In our reading, the sensible response is to treat the November Netflix launch as a test with a written question attached. Another platform covered in the same earnings cycle, AppLovin, reported revenue up 55%, so the spread between vendors in one quarter is wide, and a single platform’s number says little about the category.
What to do this month
Pull the share of this year’s CTV spend that runs through The Trade Desk and compare it with the share you planned. Ask the account team which Netflix measurement outputs are available at launch and which are dated for later, and get the dates in writing. Ask for the 2027 view on the platform’s new measurement approach before the budget is fixed, and note which parts need data you would have to supply. If a fourth-quarter result comes in below the guide of at least $755 million, ask what changed in the interim, because the guide is the company’s own number.
Source: The Trade Desk Q3 2026 results, SEC Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1
