The news: The Trade Desk (TTD) closed 2025 with solid but slowing growth, underscoring both resilience in programmatic advertising and mounting pressure from macro headwinds and Big Tech competition.

• Q4 2025 revenues reached $847 million, up 14% YoY, marking a deceleration from 22% growth in Q4 2024.
• Full-year revenues totaled $2.9 billion, up 18% YoY, down from 26% growth in 2024.
• The company guided its revenues to $678 million in the current quarter.
• Nearly 100% of clients are now using its AI-driven Kokai platform, with full migration expected by year-end 2026.

CEO Jeff Green cited weakness among consumer packaged goods and automotive advertisers, which together account for more than a quarter of TTD’s business. Inflation, tariff uncertainty, and uneven volumes have led some brands to pull back on spending.

Meanwhile, the company reorganized around a “brand-first” model, consolidating business development and activation teams to deepen direct advertiser relationships.

Why it matters: The slowdown comes as programmatic growth increasingly concentrates inside walled gardens.

• Open web programmatic display ad spending is projected to reach $42.53 billion in 2027, up from $31.57 billion in 2023, per our forecast. Growth moderates to mid-single digits by 2027.
• By contrast, walled garden programmatic spending is forecast to climb to $182.75 billion in 2027, more than four times the size of the open web segment.