Rising 900% over the past decade is a feat that few stocks accomplish. However, thanks to a recent sell-off, this figure is a lot lower than it used to be for one stock. At its peak, The Trade Desk (TTD 2.82%) stock was up an incredible 4,500%, but that's no longer the case.
Huge sell-offs don't happen all that often for The Trade Desk stock, but we're at a point that has never been seen for the stock before. It's down nearly 80% from its all-time highs, but I think this stock could be a great turnaround investment in 2026.
While it may be many years before it returns to all-time highs, I think the stock is far too cheap to ignore and can deliver market-crushing returns this year.
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The Trade Desk's ad dominance is waning
The Trade Desk operates a buy-side ad platform, which helps place its clients' ads in the most opportune location on the internet. The Trade Desk has partnerships with connected TV platforms, websites, podcasts, and many other places that allow clients to place their ads on the internet, but its growth has slowed.
The Trade Desk's revenue growth rate was at the lowest level during Q3, outside of one COVID-19-affected quarter.
TTD Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts
Still, 18% is market-beating growth, and Wall Street expects 16% growth in 2026. That's not nearly as bad as the stock price indicates, so there may be an investment opportunity here.
Part of the reason why The Trade Desk's growth slowed is rising competition. Some of its clients moved ad placement in-house, while there has also been market share taken by Amazon (AMZN 1.52%), as clients can place ads for their products directly on a platform where consumers are looking to buy.
NASDAQ: TTD
Key Data Points
The Trade Desk's ceiling has certainly declined from where investors thought it could be, thus the sell-off. However, the stock is far too cheap now, and trades for less than 15 times forward earnings.
TTD PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts
Normally, a stock trading for this valuation is shrinking, not growing its revenue at a mid-double-digit pace. I think this makes for a prime buying opportunity, as it's not often you can scoop up a high-quality company like The Trade Desk at this much of a discount to the broader market.
It may take some time for The Trade Desk's stock to recover, but I still think it's well positioned to take advantage of the shifting ad market over the next decade. As a result, it's a great stock to buy on the dip.
