The advertising technology, or adtech, industry aims to improve the process of buying and selling ads with software and other tools. Using massive computing power and technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), adtech companies can help advertisers make better use of their ad spending and help publishers better monetize their content. As this digital age matures, the adtech industry is expected to grow considerably. Business intelligence firm Fortune Business Insights estimates the global adtech market size was valued at $986.9 billion in 2025 and projects it to grow from $1.1 trillion in 2026 to $3.2 trillion by 2034.
Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which half," the old adage goes. Advertising is as much art as science, and even in a digital age when trillions of ad impressions are served to the world's internet users on PCs, smartphones, and TVs, the old adage rings true.
Best adtech stocks in 2026
There's no shortage of adtech companies looking to snag a piece of an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Here are five adtech stocks that investors should consider.
| Name and ticker | Market cap | Current price |
|---|---|---|
| The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) | $17.7 billion | $36.56 |
| PubMatic (NASDAQ:PUBM) | $358.8 million | $7.73 |
| Magnite (NASDAQ:MGNI) | $2.2 billion | $15.41 |
| Digital Turbine (NASDAQ:APPS) | $591.0 million | $5.27 |
| DoubleVerify (NYSE:DV) | $1.8 billion | $10.99 |
1. The Trade Desk
NASDAQ: TTD
Key Data Points
The Trade Desk (TTD -0.71%) serves the buy side of the digital advertising market. The company's self-service platform allows ad buyers to create and manage digital advertising campaigns across all major channels.
When the internet was young, digital advertising wasn't all that complicated. An advertiser could effectively reach audiences with display ads, and devices were limited to PCs. Today, people are spending their time using PCs, smartphones, tablets, and connected TVs, and they're consuming content through websites, mobile apps, social media, and streaming services.
The Trade Desk's artificial intelligence (AI)-powered, cloud-based platform churns through massive amounts of data to automate the ad-buying process. The company enables advertisers to reach their audience across channels, and data from one channel can be used to inform decisions about a different channel. For The Trade Desk's advertising agency and service provider customers, the platform greatly simplifies the process of launching a modern digital advertising campaign.
Not only is The Trade Desk rapidly increasing revenue, but it's also highly profitable. Through the first three quarters of 2025, the company's sales jumped 20% year-over-year to reach $2.05 billion. The bottom line also featured growth as the company's diluted earnings per share (EPS) jumped 24% year-over-year to $0.52 for the first nine months of 2025.
Connected TV (CTV), a category that includes devices such as Roku (ROKU -0.93%) and Xbox, is one of the company's biggest long-term opportunities as ad-based streaming services proliferate. The Trade Desk's CTV advertising technologies are reaching more than 90 million households with more than 120 million connected televisions around the world, and there's still huge room for expansion.
2. PubMatic
NASDAQ: PUBM
Key Data Points
3. Magnite
NASDAQ: MGNI
Key Data Points
Like PubMatic, Magnite (MGNI +2.19%) operates a sell-side digital advertising platform. The company was formed in 2020 by the merger of The Rubicon Project and Telaria, the latter of which focused on connected TV and video publishers. With revenue of $668.2 million in 2024, Magnite is more than twice the size of PubMatic in terms of sales.
Neither Magnite nor PubMatic owns any media properties, so their interests are squarely aligned with those of their publisher customers. Unlike PubMatic, Magnite makes use of cloud computing providers to handle some of its processing. Magnite adopts a hybrid approach, mixing servers hosted at data centers around the world with cloud platforms.
Being the biggest independent sell-side player, Magnite is certainly a stock to consider, especially considering how the company continuously improves its bottom line. In 2024, the company generated net income of $22.8 million -- a marked gain over the negative $159.2 million in 2023 and negative $130.3 million in 2022. More recently, Magnite reported $0.13 diluted EPS for the third quarter of 2025, representing astounding growth of 225% compared to the same period in 2024.
4. Digital Turbine
NASDAQ: APPS
Key Data Points
5. DoubleVerify
NYSE: DV
Key Data Points
Advertisers have no shortage of options when it comes to buying ads, but it’s still a challenge to determine if those ads are paying off. Publishers, social media companies, and other platforms often self-report data related to advertising, which is not always accurate. For example, publisher Gannett (NYSE:GCI) was passing inaccurate data to online advertisers for nine months before discovering the problem.
DoubleVerify (DV +0.73%) aims to solve this problem for advertisers with its digital media measurement and analytics platform. Integrated across the digital advertising industry, DoubleVerify provides insights into advertising performance and metrics that give advertisers peace of mind. On top of knowing whether their ads are performing well, advertisers also want to make sure their ads aren’t being hit by fraud and are being displayed in places suitable for their brand.
More than 8 trillion media transactions were measured through DoubleVerify’s platform in 2024, pushing sales up 15% to hit $657 million, and management forecasts continued growth to $750 million to $754 million in 2025. Upsells of premium-priced products, such as Authentic Brand Suitability, are helping to drive sales higher. Profits are also poised to climb. After reporting year-over-year adjusted EBITDA growth of 31% and 33% in 2023 and 2024, respectively, DoubleVerify projects 33% year-over-year adjusted EBITDA growth for 2025.
As advertisers lose faith in self-reported data, DoubleVerify is ready to deliver the accurate metrics necessary to run successful ad campaigns.
How to Invest in adtech stocks
If you think you're ready to start investing in adtech stocks, there are a few basic steps you must take.
- Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
- Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
- Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
- Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
- Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
- Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.
Pros and cons of investing in adtech stocks
Although there's no categorical answer as to whether adtech stocks are a good fit for your portfolio, there are some clear advantages and disadvantages to investing in these stocks.
Some of the potential pros of investing in adtech stocks:
- Since the adtech industry is expected to flourish in the coming years, adtech stocks will appeal to growth investors.
- Investing goals may vary, but portfolio diversification is an essential element of any portfolio, and adtech stocks could help achieve this.
- Adtech companies often help businesses grow sales, making them extremely advantageous.
Naturally, investors must also recognize the risks related to adtech stock investments:
- If a downturn in the economy occurs, businesses may be inclined to reduce their marketing budgets, hindering the presumed growth of adtech companies.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies are growing rapidly, and if adtech companies don't stay up to date, their platforms may become antiquated. Consequently, they may have to invest heavily in research and development, which can reduce profits.
- Many adtech companies are making substantial reinvestments in their business in lieu of returning capital to shareholders with dividends, so those looking to generate passive income have limited options with adtech stocks.
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Tips for investing in adtech stocks
Before picking up shares of an adtech stock, investors will want to identify the specific exposure they're interested in. Those eager to gain exposure to the connected TV market, for example, will find The Trade Desk to be a solid choice, while those looking for exposure to the wireless carrier market will find Digital Turbine more appealing.
Secondly, those who are more risk-averse will want to prioritize companies that generate free cash flow since the ability to produce cash organically is a green flag that the company is in good financial health. In this regard, The Trade Desk stands out among its peers, producing strong and consistent free cash flow for the past few years.
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Investing in adtech stocks FAQ
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