The Trade Desk Q3 2026: Revenue Dips 0.5% to $736M, Q4 Guide at Least $755M

The Trade Desk reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $736 million on 9 November 2026, down 0.5% from $739 million a year earlier, and guided fourth-quarter revenue to at least $755 million. For advertisers who buy programmatic display, video and connected TV (CTV) through the open internet, the numbers matter less as a stock story and more as a signal about where the largest independent demand-side platform (DSP) is putting its effort: agentic AI buying tools, CTV partnerships such as Netflix, and a new approach to measurement.

What The Trade Desk reported for Q3 2026

The figures below come from The Trade Desk's third-quarter 2026 earnings release, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission as Exhibit 99.1 to a Form 8-K on 9 November 2026. The quarter ended 30 September 2026. Revenue was essentially flat in dollars, but profit fell sharply, partly because of a one-off restructuring charge.

For the first nine months of 2026, The Trade Desk reported revenue of $2,140 million, up 4% from $2,049 million, against 20% growth in the same period of 2025. GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.08 in the quarter, down from $0.23. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.33, down from $0.45. The release says the restructuring charges were mainly severance and other termination benefits for affected employees, and that no comparable plan existed in 2025.

The company also said customer retention stayed above 95% in the quarter, "as it has for over a decade", and that its board approved an additional $731 million for share repurchases, taking the amount available to $1 billion. It had about $269 million left under the previous authorisation on 30 September 2026.

Is this the first revenue decline since the 2016 IPO?

No, not on the company's own reported numbers. Coverage has described the drop in two different ways. PPC Land called it "the first year-over-year revenue decline since the demand-side platform listed in 2016". Digiday, writing on 10 November 2026, called it a rare decline and only the second in The Trade Desk's decade as a public company, with the previous one during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Trade Desk's own second-quarter 2020 earnings release, dated 6 August 2020 and also filed with the SEC, settles the point. It reported Q2 2020 revenue of $139.4 million against $159.9 million in Q2 2019, a 13% year-on-year decrease. In that release Jeff Green said the advertising industry "hit the pause button early in the second quarter" because of the pandemic. So Q3 2026 is not the first year-on-year revenue decline since the listing. This article does not claim it is the first since 2020 either, because confirming that would require checking every quarterly release in between, which was not done here.

What Jeff Green said about the quarter

In the 9 November release, co-founder and CEO Jeff Green said Q3 "represented meaningful progress, with results well ahead of our expectations entering the quarter, but we are still operating below the level of growth we expect from ourselves." He said the company is "moving with greater urgency", strengthening how it works with its largest customers, and improving the platform through Zuma, Audience Unlimited and agentic AI, plus "a new approach to measurement designed to help marketers better understand what is actually driving business growth."

Digiday reported several things that are not in the release: a 15% headcount cut during Q3, the return of co-founder and CTO Dave Pickles to a more hands-on role, video including CTV making up more than half of revenue, and an "open measurement" product to be implemented this quarter. Digiday also reported that Green said the company is looking at acquisitions more than it historically has, while saying its standards are "higher than ever". Treat these as Digiday's reporting of the call, not as figures from the filing.

The product and partnership news buyers should note

For media buyers, the business highlights section of the release is more useful than the profit lines. It lists the integrations that change what you can actually do inside the platform.

Kokai Zuma and agentic buying

The Trade Desk introduced Kokai Zuma, described as the latest release of its Kokai buying platform, with "new agentic AI capabilities" and a more intuitive interface meant to help advertisers move faster. Separately, the release says Olyzon launched an agentic orchestration platform with agents live across DSPs including The Trade Desk. The release does not give performance figures for either product, so any claim about how much they improve results would have to come from your own tests.

Netflix, HBO Max and show-level CTV targeting

The most concrete CTV item is Netflix. According to the release, Netflix expanded its integration so that advertisers, beginning in November, can use both first-party and third-party data to target audiences on Netflix through Kokai, with in-platform measurement "expected to follow". That is on top of Netflix joining The Trade Desk's Sellers and Publishers 500+ program, which the company says makes Netflix inventory available automatically inside Kokai.

The release also lists pause ads on HBO Max and Discovery+ in Italy as a new programmatic format, and says Gracenote, a Nielsen company, announced its first DSP integration with The Trade Desk, covering show-level CTV targeting and reporting. The release does not say which markets the Netflix data targeting covers.

Data and measurement partners

Other items: Kijiji made its Canadian marketplace intent data available for programmatic activation through The Trade Desk for the first time; Veeva Crossix and IQVIA Digital expanded healthcare measurement integrations; OptimizeRx is bringing authenticated healthcare professional reach through OpenPath; and LoopMe announced a brand lift measurement integration. Most of these are North American or healthcare-specific, which limits their direct relevance outside those segments.

Analysis: what the numbers say about the open-web DSP model

This section is analysis based on the filing, not a statement by the company.

First, the gap between flat revenue and falling profit is mostly cost structure plus a one-time charge. Adding the $44.3 million restructuring charge back is part of how the company gets to adjusted EBITDA of $266 million. Even so, adjusted EBITDA margin fell from 43% to 36%, so the business earned less per dollar of revenue than a year earlier.

Second, the balance sheet shows a smaller pass-through of client money. Accounts receivable fell from $3,770 million at the end of 2025 to $3,076 million on 30 September 2026, and accounts payable fell from $3,008 million to $2,426 million. The Trade Desk's revenue is its fee on spend, and these lines reflect amounts owed by clients and owed to publishers, so the drop is consistent with lower gross spend running through the platform or a seasonal pattern. The release itself does not explain it, and year-end figures are not directly comparable with a September quarter.

Third, the guidance describes sequential growth, and that alone does not show a return to year-on-year growth. At least $755 million in Q4 would be about 2.6% above Q3's $736 million. The Q3 release does not restate Q4 2025 revenue, but the company's fourth-quarter 2025 release, filed with the SEC on 25 February 2026, reported $847 million. The guidance floor of $755 million is about 11% below last year's fourth quarter. Because the guide is a minimum, it does not by itself predict a year-on-year decline, but revenue would need to beat the floor by roughly $92 million just to match Q4 2025, and the company gave no upper figure.

Fourth, the product bets are aimed squarely at the walled-garden pressure buyers already feel. Agentic AI tools target the time cost of running programmatic campaigns. Netflix and Gracenote target the premium-inventory and show-level-targeting argument that has favoured closed platforms. A new measurement approach targets the attribution question that self-reporting platforms answer for themselves. Whether these work is not something the Q3 filing can show.

What programmatic and CTV buyers should check now

• Your own spend trend on the platform. If your programmatic or CTV spend through The Trade Desk or an agency seat rose or fell this year, compare your cost per outcome against your other channels rather than relying on the company's headline revenue.
• Netflix targeting availability. Ask your account team whether first- and third-party data targeting on Netflix through Kokai is available in your market and for which data partners. The release says "beginning in November" and does not list markets.
• Measurement before agentic automation. Before handing more bidding decisions to AI agents, make sure your conversion tracking and incrementality tests are solid. An agent optimises toward whatever signal it is given.
• Contract and fee terms. A company under margin pressure may change pricing, minimums or bundled data costs. Review your current terms and any changes your platform or agency proposes.
• Supply path. Check whether CTV buys go through direct paths such as OpenPath or through resellers, since that affects both cost and what targeting data you can apply.

What this means for Thai marketers

The release contains no figures for Thailand, Southeast Asia or Asia-Pacific. The company says only that it has offices across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. So nothing in the filing tells a Thai advertiser that local pricing, inventory or service will change.

The practical step is planning. Thai brands that run programmatic video or CTV through an independent DSP should keep comparing it against the walled gardens on outcomes they can measure themselves, such as store visits, site conversions or brand lift studies. If you lean on YouTube advertising for video reach, the DSP route is worth testing alongside it before moving budget either way. If your measurement is weak, fix that first; our GA4 setup and migration service covers the tracking layer that any DSP, agent or not, relies on. For search and Performance Max buyers, the story is a reminder that platform choice is a budget decision you should revisit with data, which is the approach behind our Google Ads management.

The Netflix integration is worth watching for markets where Netflix sells ads, but the release does not say Thailand is included, and Thai advertisers should not assume it is.

What The Trade Desk did not say

• It did not give revenue by region or by channel in the release. The "more than half from video including CTV" figure comes from Digiday's reporting, not the filing.
• It did not quantify the impact of Kokai Zuma, Audience Unlimited or the new measurement approach.
• It did not compare the Q4 guidance with Q4 2025; against the $847 million reported for that quarter, the guidance floor is about 11% lower.
• It did not state the headcount reduction in the release; that figure is Digiday's.
• It did not provide a GAAP net income outlook, citing the variability of stock-based compensation.

Frequently asked questions

How much revenue did The Trade Desk make in Q3 2026?

The Trade Desk reported revenue of $736 million for the quarter ended 30 September 2026, down 0.5% from $739 million in Q3 2025. Net income was $38 million and adjusted EBITDA was $266 million.

Is Q3 2026 The Trade Desk's first revenue decline since its IPO?

No. The company's own Q2 2020 release reported revenue of $139.4 million against $159.9 million a year earlier, a 13% drop during the pandemic. Some outlets called Q3 2026 the first decline since the 2016 listing, but the company's historical figures do not support that.

What is The Trade Desk's Q4 2026 guidance?

The Trade Desk guided Q4 2026 revenue to at least $755 million and adjusted EBITDA to at least $280 million. It did not give a GAAP net income outlook.

Can advertisers target Netflix audiences with their own data through The Trade Desk?

Yes, according to the 9 November release, beginning in November advertisers can use first- and third-party data to target Netflix audiences through Kokai, with in-platform measurement expected later. The release does not say which countries are covered, so check with your account team before planning around it in Thailand.

Should Thai advertisers change their programmatic budgets because of this?

Not on the basis of the earnings alone. The release has no Thai or Asia-Pacific data. Budget changes should come from your own measured results by channel, which is the test that matters regardless of a vendor's quarterly numbers.

If you want an independent view of how your programmatic, YouTube and search budgets compare on measured outcomes, Relevant Audience can review your setup and tracking and suggest where to test next.