Ad tech companies haven’t always done well on the public markets. But The Trade Desk’s IPO paved a way for other ad tech companies behind it, with its attractive growth reliability, as it made its numbers every quarter.
That streak came to an end last week when the company fumbled its earnings, leading the stock to decline by a third and stay there. CEO Jeff Green blamed a number of factors for the miss on its guidance, including some “people” mistakes, but since earnings guidance is a bit more modest looking ahead, The Trade Desk’s performance spooked the ad tech industry.
On this week’s podcast, we discuss reactions to the miss, as well as The Trade Desk’s competitive threats from rival DSPs – including Amazon, which Green called out on the call.
On to Reddit
Then, we turn to Reddit, whose search referrals sputtered last quarter, as Google tweaked its algorithm. But it was just a blip. Consumers who find Reddit among their search results increasingly trust Reddit’s anonymous commentary and product recommendations over professionally produced content.
It’s hard for mass media to compete with Reddit. Along with declining traffic from search and social, the looming threat of generative AI and influencers coming for consumers’ attention, publishers have to fight for position in Google search results with anonymous reddituser123, who is often more trusted than professional content.
