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The Trade Desk

TTD
68
Software - Services · Technology
Also trades as: 0LF5.L
Price
$13.46
-0.10 (-0.74%)
Market Cap
$6.33B
Exchange
NASDAQ
Winston Score
68
Winston is curious
A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.
Data as of Aug 12, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026

Share count falling — buybacks

3.2% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 498.5M (2021) → 482.7M (2025)

The Trade Desk is a technology company that helps advertisers buy digital ads automatically using software. Its platform lets brands and ad agencies purchase ads across websites, streaming TV, podcasts, and mobile apps — all in one place. It is one of the largest independent demand-side advertising platforms in the world, meaning it works for the buyers of ads rather than the sellers.

The company makes money by charging a percentage fee on the ad spending that flows through its platform. It operates mainly in the United States but has a growing international presence across Europe and Asia. Its competitive edge comes from being independent — unlike Google or Amazon, it does not own media properties, so advertisers trust it to spend their budgets without bias. The key growth driver is the ongoing shift of TV advertising budgets from traditional broadcast to connected TV streaming, but the main risk is increasing competition from large tech platforms that control both the ad tools and the media inventory.

Winston Score History

Politician Trades

38 trades / 12mo

17 Congressional buys and 20 sells on TTD in the last 12 months.

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Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+3.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

-22.2% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$525M/ year

Rising (+13% vs prior year)

18.1% of revenue

In line with sector average (15%)

Investing heavily in future products and technology

Insider Activity

11.1%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$1.1B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Heavy R&D investment

The Trade Desk is putting 18% of revenue into R&D and that number is rising. And they're generating enough cash to self-fund it.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Gross Margin
100.0%
Premium pricing power — 100.0% gross margin
Operating Margin
14.2%
Healthy — 14.2% operating margin
ROCE
3.4%
Weak — 3.4% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales YoY
+11.6%
Steady sales growth (+11.6% YoY)
EPS YoY
+1.2%
Flat earnings

Single-digit earnings growth — steady but not exciting.

EPS Consistency
6/8 quarters
Earnings grew in most of the last 8 quarters

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion
362%
Turns 362% of profit into real cash
FCF Margin
38.1%
Converts sales into free cash efficiently (38.1%)

Free cash flow margin above 20%. Out of every $100 in sales, more than $20 is real cash they keep.

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Stability

Debt / Equity
0.17
Conservative — low debt load (0.17)
Interest Cover
804.27x
Comfortably covers interest (804.3x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)
15.8x
Fair value — P/E 15.8

P/E in the normal range. Price is roughly $15 for every $1 of yearly profit.

P/E vs Forward
+3.5
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (15.8 → 12.3)

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.
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