Programmatic advertising specialist The Trade Desk (TTD -4.34%) was up more than 10% in after-hours trading Thursday in the wake of its blowout third-quarter financial results. The company reported revenue of $216 million, up 32% year over year, while delivering earnings per share (EPS) of $1.27. To put that in context, analysts' consensus estimates were calling for revenue of $180.88 million and EPS of $0.43.
Growth is also back near pre-pandemic levels, as the company's 32% year over year revenue increase is on par with the 35% growth it delivered in Q4 2019.
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Several of The Trade Desk's high-growth areas were on full display and helped underpin the strong results. Advertising spend on connected TVs (CTV) was up 100% year over year, while mobile video and audio each delivered growth of 70%. The company's customer retention was enviable, remaining above 95%, a benchmark it has cleared every quarter going back five years.
In a statement to The Motley Fool, The Trade Desk said: "Our CTV growth is exploding (up more than 100% in Q3), as more consumers switch from cable to streaming and advertisers can apply data to their massive TV campaigns in ways that are simply not possible with linear. Major advertisers ... have recently indicated that their approach to TV advertising is changing radically and that they are doubling down on data-driven advertising."
The company went on to point out that advertisers are under more pressure than ever before to prove the return on investment of every ad dollar, and are prioritizing ads that are measurable and comparable -- an area that's right in The Trade Desk's wheelhouse.
Guidance for the fourth quarter was equally bullish. Management is guiding for revenue of $289 million at the midpoint of its guidance, up roughly 34% year over year, and adjusted EBITDA of at least $115 million, an increase of 38%.
