I won't keep you waiting. The two worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.63%) in August 2025 were The Trade Desk (TTD -2.35%) and Super Micro Computer (SMCI -0.24%). These were down by 37% and 30%, respectively, for the month.
Since early August was the peak of earnings season, you might suspect that these moves were earnings-related. And you'd be 100% correct.
In the case of The Trade Desk, its earnings contained disappointing third-quarter guidance, and investors seemed to be rattled by the unexpected departure of the company's CFO. Supermicro delivered strong growth, with a 47% year-over-year revenue jump, but at the same time, the company reported its weakest gross margin ever.
Image source: Getty Images.
Which is worth buying now?
Of the two, I consider The Trade Desk to be the better opportunity for patient long-term investors. The guidance was certainly a disappointment, but the results otherwise looked solid, beating revenue estimates by a significant margin. And although the company's outlook called for a deceleration in revenue growth, it might not be the best comparison, as the third quarter of 2024 had a positive tailwind from political advertising for the November election.
Another lingering issue holding the stock down is fear that connected TV ad spend will increasingly go to Amazon (AMZN -0.57%) instead of The Trade Desk. And while this is certainly worth keeping an eye on, the reality is that the overlap between the adtech businesses of the two companies isn't as big as it may seem.
