Shares of programmatic ad solutions company The Trade Desk (TTD -0.63%) continued their relentless upward momentum last week when the company reported second-quarter results that crushed expectations. The company's undeniably strong performance recently has helped push shares more than 190% higher over the past six months.
Once again, The Trade Desk's soaring revenue and better-than-expected earnings per share stole the show, with revenue rising 54% year over year and non-GAAP earnings per share for the period coming in at $0.60 -- significantly higher than a consensus analyst estimate of $0.44. In addition, Q3 was The Trade Desk's largest incremental quarterly revenue increase in absolute dollars in the company's history.
However, for investors wanting to get a full picture of just how extraordinary The Trade Desk's momentum is, they'll want to go beyond the headline figures in the company's earnings release. Here are three of the most insightful takeaways from The Trade Desk's earnings call.
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1. Connected TV ad spending is skyrocketing
If there was one item that best encapsulates what makes The Trade Desk a company worth keeping an eye on, it's the programmatic ad-buying platform's enormous opportunity in connected TV (CTV) and management's execution on this front.
CEO Jeff Green put the importance of connected TV to The Trade Desk's growth story into context in the company's second-quarter earnings call:
Arguably, the most important channel for our company is Connected TV. Last quarter, we shared the most bullish number that I think we've ever shared as a public company. Q1 2018 CTV spend increased by over 21x over Q1 2017. This quarter, I'm excited to report that Connected TV more than doubled from last quarter.
2. Why The Trade Desk is at the center of this revolution
Green believes that since the connected TV market is more fragmented than other large digital channels, The Trade Desk's objective value proposition will ultimately lure marketing budgets to its platform.
Green explained:
TV distribution is more fragmented than ever as content owners in desperate need of ad revenues increasingly try to go direct to consumers. Internet TV, especially ad-funded Internet TV, is all up for grabs. ... Once again, our value proposition is enhanced by this development.
Further, since The Trade Desk doesn't have to simultaneously manage the interests of a publishing platform and advertiser return on investment (ROI) the way digital advertising leaders Facebook and Alphabet do, this means The Trade Desk can adapt and evolve to content and marketer needs at a quicker pace. "Because we are independent and objective, we can nimbly move where the TV ecosystem moves," Green said.
3. There's more strong growth ahead
One concern for any growth stock is whether or not the company's revenue growth could decelerate sharply in the coming quarters. If this were to happen for The Trade Desk, its stock could sell off as investors cast doubt on its premium price-to-earnings ratio of 107 at the time of this writing.
But Green believes the company is positioned for strong growth to persist:
In the last 12 months, Ad Age's top 50 worldwide advertisers increased their spend nearly 100% more with us this year than last. That positions us very well for continued growth, not only for 2018, but in 2019 and beyond.
More broadly speaking, Green said he believes the worldwide advertising market will "move to programmatic," opening up an enormous addressable market over the long haul.
