May 7th-May 13th

Below is a roundup of last week’s notable industry news, with summaries and our opinions. Lots of positive Q1 earnings, headlined by The Trade Desk…

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The Last Of Q1 Earnings!

The Trade Desk (👍): Revenue was up 25% to $616 million, beating estimates. This comes after the company missed revenue expectations for the first time in its history as a public company in Q4. The leading independent demand-side platform (DSP) retained 95% of its customers despite the tariffs and economic uncertainty. Revenue guidance for the current quarter also beat expectations. Shares rose over 20%.

AppLovin (👍): Revenue was up 40% to $1.48B, beating estimates. Advertising revenue surged 71% to $1.16B. The company will sell its mobile gaming business to Tripledot (more on this below) and is vying to merge with TikTok. Q2 ad revenue guidance missed expectations. Shares rose as much as 15%.

Magnite (👍): Revenue was up 4.3% to $155.8M, missing estimates. Earnings per share, however, crushed expectations, and its CTV contribution—a key metric for Magnite—grew 15%. The supply-side platform (SSP) didn't reaffirm its full-year guidance, citing "tariff-driven economic uncertainty." Shares rose 8.3%.

Pubmatic (👍): Revenue was down 4% to $63.8M, beating estimates. CTV revenue grew over 50%, and supply-path optimization accounts for 55% of "total activity." The SSP expects 15% revenue growth in 2025, with acceleration in H2. Shares rose over 9.5%.

Taboola (👍): Revenue was up 3% to $427M, beating estimates. The native ads company cited momentum from its Realize platform. Guidance for the current quarter and year met expectations. Shares rose nearly 10% following the results.

Teads (👎): Q1 revenue was up 32% to $286.4M, meeting estimates. The newly combined Outbrain & Teads saw CTV revenue grow over 100% (pro forma), but net losses widened due to acquisition and restructuring costs. The company reiterated its full-year guidance. Shares fell as much as 15% to a 52-week low.

DoubleVerify (🤷): Revenue was up 17% to $165.1M, beating estimates, but earnings per share missed expectations. The verification vendor’s media activation revenue grew 20% and supply-side revenue was up 35%. Guidance for the current quarter beat expectations, but shares fell 3% in after-hours trading.

Integral Ad Science (👍): Revenue was up 17% to $134.1M, beating estimates. The verification vendor's media optimization revenue grew 24% and publisher revenue increased 33%. The company raised its full-year revenue outlook, beating analyst expectations. Shares rose 5%.

Perion (👍): Revenue fell 43% to $89.3M, beating estimates. Key growth engines DOOH (up 80%), CTV (up 31%), and retail media (up 33%) offset declines in search ad revenue tied to Microsoft Bing changes. Perion raised its 2024 revenue outlook, beating expectations, and announced a deal for AI platform Greenbids. Shares rose 10%.

Disney (👍): Revenue was up 7% to $23.6B, beating estimates. Disney+ subscribers grew by 1.4M compared to last quarter, beating expectations. ESPN's new streaming service will launch in the fall at $29.99 per month. Disney raised its 2024 earnings-per-share guidance. Shares rose 10%.

Uber (🤷): Revenue was up 14% to $11.53B, missing estimates, but earnings per share  beat expectations. Uber's ad business now has a $1.5B annual run rate, growing 60% YoY. Restaurant delivery advertising is strong. Trips grew 18%. Shares fell 2.5%.

Pinterest (👍): Revenue was up 16% to $855M, beating estimates, but earnings per share missed expectations. Global monthly active users grew 10% to a record 570M, beating estimates. Guidance for the current quarter also beat expectations. Shares rose 15%.

Paramount (👍): Revenue was down 6% to $7.19B, beating estimates. Paramount+ subscribers grew 11% to 79M, and the streaming service remains on track for profitability in 2025. Shares rose by single digits.

Warner Bros. Discovery (👎): Revenue was down 10% to $8.98B, missing estimates, driven by weakness in its linear TV business. Max and Discovery subscribers increased by 5.3M to 122.3M. WBD trimmed its losses to $453M. Shares opened lower but increased 5% on reports WBD may sell its cable channels.

Fox (👍): Revenue was up 27% to $4.37B, beating estimates. Advertising revenue surged 65%, driven by Super Bowl LIX and growth at Tubi. Fox will name its new subscription-based streaming service "Fox One." Share rose nearly 5%.

Stagwell (👎): Organic net revenue was up 6%. The challenger agency holding company hit $130M in net new business, a record, but posted a $5.3M loss. Stagwell reaffirmed its 2025 organic net revenue growth forecast of 8%. Shares fell by double digits.

Opinion: These earnings reports, combined with a bull market over the last few weeks, have us feeling good! The big story here is that The Trade Desk brushed off its rare miss last quarter with a solid report that bodes well for the industry. But The Trade Desk isn't alone; several companies in the last week posted healthy performance and guidance that exceeded estimates, generating greater optimism than we've seen in recent months. Of course, a lot of that improved sentiment is due to US trade deals with the UK and China in the last week, leading many to hope that tariff-related fears may be subsiding. It would be good news for our sector (and the broader economy) if that holds, potentially inspiring both consumers and advertisers to keep spending. There is also hope that antitrust will lead to a more level playing field for independent ad tech if Google, Amazon, and Apple are forced to make big changes to their practices.

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