The Trade Desk, Inc. Just Beat Earnings Expectations: Here's What Analysts Think Will Happen Next

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A week ago, The Trade Desk, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD) came out with a strong set of quarterly numbers that could potentially lead to a re-rate of the stock. It was overall a positive result, with revenues beating expectations by 2.1% to hit US$491m. Trade Desk also reported a statutory profit of US$0.06, which was an impressive 107% above what the analysts had forecast. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

Check out our latest analysis for Trade Desk

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Following the latest results, Trade Desk's 33 analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$2.41b in 2024. This would be a notable 17% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to bounce 67% to US$0.69. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$2.39b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.64 in 2024. So the consensus seems to have become somewhat more optimistic on Trade Desk's earnings potential following these results.

The consensus price target was unchanged at US$99.10, implying that the improved earnings outlook is not expected to have a long term impact on value creation for shareholders. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. There are some variant perceptions on Trade Desk, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$115 and the most bearish at US$35.00 per share. Note the wide gap in analyst price targets? This implies to us that there is a fairly broad range of possible scenarios for the underlying business.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. We can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of Trade Desk'shistorical trends, as the 24% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 is roughly in line with the 27% annual growth over the past five years. Compare this with the broader industry, which analyst estimates (in aggregate) suggest will see revenues grow 3.3% annually. So although Trade Desk is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's definitely expected to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing here is that the analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, suggesting that there has been a clear increase in optimism towards Trade Desk following these results. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have estimates - from multiple Trade Desk analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Another thing to consider is whether management and directors have been buying or selling stock recently. We provide an overview of all open market stock trades for the last twelve months on our platform, here.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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