The Trade Desk reported third-quarter revenue of $736 million on November 9, 0.5% below the $739 million of a year earlier. PPC Land reported it is the company's first year-on-year decline since it listed in 2016. The figure was $86 million above the $650 million floor the company guided to in August, and the company said political spending helped.
Net income fell 67% to $38 million, weighed down by a $44.3 million restructuring charge tied to roughly 575 jobs cut in September. For the fourth quarter, the company expects revenue of at least $755 million and adjusted EBITDA of at least $280 million, about 11% and 30% below the prior year's $847 million and $400 million. The board added $731 million to its buyback authorization. Adweek noted that adjusted EBITDA margin slipped from 43% to 36%.
CEO Jeff Green called the quarter "well ahead of our expectations entering the quarter" but said the business is "still operating below the level of growth we expect from ourselves." He told analysts that buying decisions are moving from hands-on traders to senior agency leaders, procurement teams and chief executives, and that the company is looking at acquisitions more than it historically has. PPC Land pointed to Safari blocking the company's ad domain, competition from Amazon and Walmart's non-exclusive renewal as pressures, while customer retention stayed above 95%.