Analysis
Revenue grew 3% to $715 million against guidance of at least $750 million. The company is leaning on AI and measurement tools.
In 60 seconds
- On August 6, 2026, The Trade Desk reported Q2 revenue of $715 million, up 3% year over year, with adjusted EBITDA of $241 million (a 34% margin) and net income of $64 million.
- In May it had guided to at least $750 million; for Q3 it guided to at least $650 million.
- CEO Jeff Green said the quarter did not meet the company's standard.
- On August 27 it began rolling out Kokai Zuma, with agentic AI features.
Impact Layer
- What changed
- The Trade Desk's growth slowed to 3% and came in under its own guidance, while it released a new version of its buying platform with agentic AI.
- Why it matters
- The largest independent demand-side platform is the neutral alternative to Amazon and walled gardens, so its growth is a signal about where programmatic budgets are going.
- Who is affected
- Advertisers and agencies buying on the open internet, publishers selling through programmatic channels, and investors in adtech.
- Martech stack area
- AI, Advertising
- Stack impact
- New Kokai controls and Deal Desk features change how private deals and optimization are managed in the platform.
- Business impact
- Moderate All performance figures are the company's. The AI efficiency figure quoted in the press is an early, unaudited result.
- Related technologies
- Related vendors
- What to watch
- Whether Q3 meets the "at least $650 million" guide, how much of the slowdown is competition versus market, and independent results for Kokai Zuma.
On August 6, 2026, The Trade Desk reported second-quarter revenue of $715 million, 3% higher than a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA was $241 million, a 34% margin, and net income was $64 million.
Against its own guidance
In May, after the first quarter (revenue of $689 million), The Trade Desk guided to at least $750 million for the second quarter, according to PPC Land. The reported $715 million is below that. For the third quarter the company guided to at least $650 million in revenue and about $160 million in adjusted EBITDA. Jeff Green, co-founder and chief executive, said the quarter did not meet the standard the company sets for itself, and that complexity increases the value of decisioning, measurement and AI.
What the company highlighted
- Customer retention above 95% for more than a decade.
- New appointments: a chief financial officer, chief marketing officer and chief commercial officer, plus new board members with AI and advertising experience.
- Netflix joined its seller network, and integrations expanded with Booking.com, Kayak, Marriott, Uber, United Airlines, Adobe and Databricks.
- It repurchased $78 million of shares in the quarter, with $269 million of authorization remaining.
Product: Kokai and Kokai Zuma
Earlier in the year, Kokai gained advanced AI controls (three optimization modes replacing an on/off switch), pause-triggered display ads on connected TV, upgraded Deal Desk private-marketplace tools (in open beta) and publisher-quality signals from Sincera. On August 27, 2026, The Trade Desk began rolling out Kokai Zuma, which adds a Koa Assistant for campaign creation and troubleshooting, AI audience creation, frequency optimization, bulk editing with impact previews and simpler reporting. Some features are generally available and others are in beta. A press report on August 31 said the stock rose 5% to $14.25 that day and cited an early 32% average cost-per-acquisition improvement; that figure is an initial, vendor-reported result.
Our read
PPC Land attributes the slowdown to competition from Amazon’s demand-side platform and walled-garden platforms; the company’s own release does not say that. Either way, the neutral-platform pitch now has to be backed by features that save buyers time and prove results. Advertisers should test Kokai Zuma’s automation against a manual setup before shifting budgets.
Sources
- The Trade Desk: Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, second quarter 2026 results (SEC) (opens in a new tab)
Source of the Q2 results, Q3 guidance, CEO statement and highlights.
- PPC Land: The Trade Desk's Q2 Kokai updates: AI controls, CTV pause ads, Deal Desk (opens in a new tab)
Source of the Q1 results and the May guidance, and of the Kokai feature list.
- Yahoo Finance: The Trade Desk introduces Kokai Zuma, the latest release of Kokai (opens in a new tab)
Source of the Kokai Zuma features and availability.
- Yahoo Finance: Trade Desk rises 5% on Kokai Zuma agentic AI launch (opens in a new tab)
Source of the share-price reaction and the early efficiency figure.