The digital advertising market continues to grow, but it has not translated into an easy earnings season for publicly traded ad tech companies, with their numbers on Wall Street speaking for themselves.The chart below demonstrates the stark disconnect after the recent Q2 disclosures, even for the cohort’s traditionally talismanic names.
AppLovin reported 53% year-over-year revenue growth and promptly lost almost one-fifth of its market value after its August 5 report. Meanwhile, The Trade Desk grew just 3% and fell 22% after its Q2 disclosure.
Elsewhere, Criteo’s AI narrative, such as its tie-up with OpenAI, seemed to run out of steam, as an 11% revenue decline led to a 24% stock price drop after its earnings report.
Similarly, Taboola and Teads felt the wrath of Wall Street, with respective 27.5% and 24% plunges in their stock prices after earnings – despite Taboola posting a 2.4% increase during the quarter; Teads, by contrast, experienced a marked fall in revenue during the period.
However, there were winners — PubMatic rose 20.8%, Magnite 8.6%, and Zeta Global 13% after reporting 44% revenue growth — but investors’ response to the cohort made clear that simply posting revenue growth is no longer sufficient.
