Investing.com -- The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) saw its shares soar more than 20% following the opening bell on Friday athe fter advertising technology company reported first-quarter earnings that exceeded analyst expectations and provided robust guidance for the second quarter.
The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.33 for the first quarter of 2025, surpassing the analyst estimate of $0.25 by $0.08. Revenue for the quarter came in at $616 million, beating the consensus estimate of $576.07 million and representing a 25% increase YoY.
The Trade Desk’s strong performance was driven by strategic upgrades implemented in the fourth quarter of 2024, which contributed to the company’s outperformance. CEO Jeff Green expressed optimism about the company’s ability to continue outpacing the market and deliver increasing value to marketers.
Looking ahead, The Trade Desk provided solid guidance for the second quarter of 2025, projecting revenue of at least $682 million, slightly above the consensus estimate of $680.7 million. The company also expects adjusted EBITDA of approximately $259 million for Q2.
"We’re encouraged by the early impact of the strategic upgrades at the company we implemented in Q4, which contributed to our outperformance," said Green. "As we build on this momentum, we’re optimistic about our ability to continue to outpace the market and deliver increasing value to marketers who prioritize objective, transparent, and data-driven media buying on the open internet."
Commenting on the report, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) analysts said The Trade Desk is "back on the right path."
"While TTD will not be immune from macro headwinds, their 2Q outlook implies at least 17% growth, which suggests the company can still deliver healthy growth amid an uncertain macro backdrop," analysts led by Jessica Reif Ehrlich said in a note.
"We believe TTD’s competitive positioning in high growth areas of digital advertising with large TAMs, particularly CTV and retail media, as well as growth in Audio, should support the company’s multiple."
The company maintained its strong customer retention rate of over 95% during the first quarter, a trend that has continued for the past eleven consecutive years. The Trade Desk also announced the appointment of Vivek Kundra as Chief Operating Officer, bringing extensive operational expertise from his previous roles at Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) and as the first Chief Information Officer of the U.S. Government.
In addition, The Trade Desk continued to build support for its Unified ID 2.0 initiative, an industry-wide approach to identity that aims to preserve the value of relevant advertising while prioritizing user control and privacy. The company also expanded its OpenPath program, which provides advertisers with direct connections to premium publishers across the open internet.
During the first quarter, The Trade Desk used $386 million of cash to repurchase its Class A common stock, with $631 million remaining available and authorized for repurchases as of March 31, 2025.