The Trade Desk (TTD): analysis in plain words
Is The Trade Desk cheap or expensive? How it makes money, whether it grows and its risks, explained in plain words and with its official accounts.
The Trade Desk (TTD) is listed on the Nasdaq and we classify it in software and cloud. Below are its key dated figures, how it makes money, how it compares with its sector, what works for and against The Trade Desk according to those figures, and the questions people ask most about the stock. No buy or sell tips.
The Trade Desk (TTD) key figures as of November 4, 2026
| Figure | Value | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Share price | $13.23 | Last price on November 4, 2026 |
| P/E ratio (TTM) | 15.9x | Price over earnings per share |
| Revenue growth | +3.0% | Latest quarter vs the same quarter a year earlier |
| Net margin (TTM) | 13.6% | Profit for every 100 of sales |
| Net debt / EBITDA | Net cash (more cash than debt) | Years of operating profit to repay debt |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | Annual dividend over price |
| Market cap | $6.3 billion | What the stock market values it at |
The The Trade Desk figures come from Yahoo Finance, the same source the Fintols analysis uses, retrieved on November 4, 2026. Any TTD figure that is not available shows as N/A: we do not estimate it.
How The Trade Desk makes money
The Trade Desk sells a self-service platform that ad agencies and brands use to buy digital advertising across connected TV, video, audio, mobile and the open web. It takes a fee based on the ad spend clients run through the platform, now called Kokai. The United States is its biggest market.
Over the last 12 months, The Trade Desk brought in revenue of $3.0 billion. For every 100 it sells, The Trade Desk keeps 76.9 after the direct cost of what it sells (gross margin) and 14.2 after all operating costs (operating margin).
The Trade Desk against its sector
To know whether a The Trade Desk figure is high or low you have to put it next to similar companies. This table compares The Trade Desk with the median of the 19 software and cloud companies Fintols covers, with data as of November 4, 2026.
| Figure | The Trade Desk | software and cloud median |
|---|---|---|
| P/E | 15.9x | 29.0x (19) |
| Revenue growth | +3.0% | +20.5% (25) |
| Net margin | 13.6% | 16.0% (25) |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 0.00% (25) |
| Net debt / EBITDA | -1.5x | 0.1x (23) |
In short, against the typical software and cloud company, The Trade Desk trades on a lower P/E, grows more slowly and carries less debt. By size, The Trade Desk ranks number 22 of 22 software and cloud companies quoted in USD on Fintols.
The bull case for The Trade Desk
What works in favour of The Trade Desk, according to its figures as of November 4, 2026:
- The Trade Desk generates real cash: $583 million of free cash flow over 12 months, 9.3% of its stock market value.
- On a P/E basis The Trade Desk trades cheaper than its sector: 15.9x its annual earnings, against 29.0x for the software and cloud median (19 companies with data).
The main risk for The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk stock sits 73% below its 52-week high ($48.30): the market has cut its expectations, and it is worth understanding why first.
And, like the rest of software and cloud, The Trade Desk is exposed to a competitor or AI making what it sells cheaper and forcing price cuts.
Frequently asked questions about The Trade Desk
Is it a good time to buy The Trade Desk stock?
Fintols does not tell you whether to buy or sell The Trade Desk, and nobody knows what the price will do tomorrow. What we can show you is where it stands today. As of November 4, 2026, The Trade Desk stock trades at $13.23, 73% below its 52-week high ($48.30) and 14% above its low ($11.62). Its P/E is 15.9x against a software and cloud median of 29.0x, and 13.0x on the earnings analysts expect over the next 12 months. With The Trade Desk, as with any stock, timing matters less than understanding the business, investing for the long run and not betting everything on a single company.
Does The Trade Desk pay a dividend?
No. As of November 4, 2026, The Trade Desk does not pay a dividend: what it earns stays in the company to grow, invest or, where it does so, buy back shares. Anyone buying The Trade Desk today is counting on the share price rising, not on income.
Is The Trade Desk stock expensive?
It depends on what you compare it with. On P/E, The Trade Desk trades at 15.9x its last 12 months of earnings: cheaper than the software and cloud median (29.0x). A high P/E alone does not make The Trade Desk expensive: it can be justified if earnings grow fast, and a low one can reflect a business in trouble.
Who are The Trade Desk's competitors?
On Fintols we compare The Trade Desk with Unity, Amadeus and Wolters Kluwer, which are also in software and cloud. Each has a side-by-side comparison with The Trade Desk below.
The Trade Desk competitors
- Unity (U) analysis · The Trade Desk vs Unity comparison
- Amadeus (AMS) analysis · The Trade Desk vs Amadeus comparison
- Wolters Kluwer (WKL.AS) analysis · The Trade Desk vs Wolters Kluwer comparison
To understand The Trade Desk better
- Economic Moats Explained: From Warren Buffett to AI
- P/E Ratio and EPS Explained: How to Read Them Without Traps
More companies like The Trade Desk: software and cloud stocks and S&P 500 companies. Open the full TTD analysis with its valuation and scenarios. Educational content about The Trade Desk, not investment advice.