Dan Victor, The Motley Fool

Sat, May 31, 2025, 7:15 AM5 min read

• The Trade Desk is capitalizing on strong demand for its AI-powered advertising technology solutions.

• An ongoing international expansion and entry into new industry verticals support a strong growth outlook.

• The stock is down sharply from its highs, but could be poised to rebound as earnings accelerate.

• 10 stocks we like better than The Trade Desk ›

Following a dismal start to the year for The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD), shareholders are hoping the second half of 2025 reprograms the narrative. The stock is down 47% from its 52-week-high amid the broader market turbulence, even as the advertising technology (adtech) pioneer continues to generate impressive growth.

This recent weakness could be a buying opportunity for investors as The Trade Desk's long-term outlook remains as strong as ever. The company's effort to integrate more artificial intelligence (AI) technology is positioning it to capture a larger share of an estimated $1 trillion advertising market.

Here are three reasons why The Trade Desk stock could stage a big comeback.

With people increasingly connected to media content, every digital interaction holds the potential to be monetized. The Trade Desk is capitalizing on this evolving industry landscape through its leading demand-side platform (DSP) that empowers advertisers to manage data-driven advertising campaigns across various formats and devices, including mobile devices and connected TVs (CTV).

By processing over 13 million impressions per second, the AI-driven Kokai ecosystem allows ad buyers to target audiences, leveraging real-time data to optimize ad spend based on consumer behavior patterns, identifying high-value marketing opportunities. The ease of use and system effectiveness have made The Trade Desk a go-to solution for major brands and agencies.

While CTV remains a high-growth market, with streaming video services offering more ad-funded options, Trade Desk is also expanding into new verticals, including retail media. The ability to leverage its AI capabilities with first-party data has positioned The Trade Desk as a leader in delivering innovative, high-impact advertising solutions.

In the first quarter, The Trade Desk reported revenue of $616 million, a 25% year-over-year increase, well above the Wall Street estimate of $574 million. Its $0.33 in adjusted earnings per share (EPS) was 27% higher than the prior-year quarter, also beating expectations.

The Trade Desk founder and CEO Jeff Green called the new AI tools and features a "game changer" for advertising performance metrics, suggesting the company is just getting started with broad-based operating momentum and growth across all geographies and channels.