Latest news with #LauraSchenkein
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Trade Desk names new CFO, warns of tariff disruption
This story was originally published on CFO Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CFO Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Advertising technology platform The Trade Desk announced that board member Alex Kayyal will take the company's CFO seat beginning Aug. 21, replacing long-time company alum Laura Schenkein, according to a Thursday press release. The Ventura, California-based business, which enables companies to launch ad campaigns, tapped Kayyal as CFO 'to drive sustained growth and scale for the company,' according to the Thursday release. Schenkein will depart after more than a decade-long tenure at the digital marketing platform. She first joined as its director, financial planning & analysis, and assumed the CFO post in June 2023, according to her LinkedIn profile. Schenkein will remain with The Trade Desk as a non-executive officer through the end of this year, and will work with Kayyal to enable a 'seamless transition of responsibilities,' the company said Thursday. 'I'm proud of what we've accomplished together from our early days as a start-up to going public to joining the S&P 500,' Schenkein said Thursday during the company's most recent earnings call of her 11-year tenure with the business, which went public in September 2016. Dive Insight: Kayyal joined the company's board in February, and has served as a partner for Lightspeed Venture Partners since February 2023, according to a securities filing. His past experience also includes a seven-year term at software company Salesforce, where he held roles including SVP and managing partner, Salesforce Ventures, according to his LinkedIn profile. In association with his appointment as CFO, Kayyal has resigned as a member of the special committee of the board, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As CFO, Kayyal is set to receive an annual base salary of $600,000 and a signing bonus of $600,000, as well as a relocation benefit of $400,000, according to the filing. He will also be set to receive an initial target bonus of $600,000, as well as a grant of restricted stock awards with an aggregate equity amount of $15 million. 'I met Alex in 2014 when [he] was one of the company's earliest investors,' Schenkein said Thursday during the company's earnings call. 'He is respected and I have confidence in him as he takes on this new role.' Shares of the company plunged by roughly 37% Friday, according to Nasdaq, following its second quarter earnings report, amid tariff uncertainty and a possible pullback on ad spending by large firms. Company executive leaders are monitoring how shifts in U.S. trade policy and other economic risks may influence company performance. 'Assuming the macro environment remains stable and we don't see disruptions from large global brands, which make up a significant portion of our business due to tariff uncertainty, we expect Q3 revenue to be at least $717 million,' Schenkein said Thursday. The Trade Desk is also facing increasing competition in the online advertising space from companies such as Amazon — which reported a 23% boost in ad revenue to $15.7 billion for its most recent quarter last week, according to a Friday report by CNBC. While 'some of the world's largest brands are absolutely facing pressure and some amount of uncertainty,' including tariffs, uncertainty is also 'an opportunity for us to grab land,' CEO and Founder Jeff Green said Thursday in response to an analyst question. For the quarter ended June 30, The Trade Desk reported a 19% year-over-year jump in revenue to $694 million, according to its earnings report. Its net income rose to $90 million, compared to $85 million for the prior year period. Both Green and Schenkein also highlighted particularly robust growth in the company's 'Connected TV' or CTV advertising offerings, a form of advertising for streaming or over-the-top (OTT) devices. The area remains The Trade Desk's fastest growing channel. During the second quarter, video, which includes CTV, represented 'a high 40s percentage share of our business and continues to grow as a percentage of our mix,' Schenkein said. In addition to tariffs, Green pointed to other trends that may influence performance, including artificial intelligence and increasing use of 'walled gardens,' or closed systems in the online advertising space. 'The digital advertising landscape is evolving rapidly with ongoing regulatory scrutiny of walled gardens, the rise of AI and growing demand for transparency and independence,' Green said. 'We believe the next decade will be pivotal in determining the winners and losers in our space, and that staying true to our long-term vision is more important now than ever.' The Trade Desk declined to comment beyond the press release. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Should You Buy the 40% Post-Earnings Plunge in The Trade Desk Stock?
Trade Desk (TTD) shares tanked nearly 40% on Friday after the ad-tech firm came in ahead of Street estimates for its fiscal Q2 but said tariffs will materially hurt performance in the current quarter. Also on Friday, the company announced a surprise departure of its CFO Laura Schenkein, naming Alex Kayyal as her immediate replacement. More News from Barchart Robinhood Stock Seemingly Can't Be Stopped in 2025. Is It Too Late to Buy HOOD Here? Cathie Wood Is Buying Shares of This Little-Known Ethereum Treasury Company. Should You? Dear Ford Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendar for August 11 Tired of missing midday reversals? The FREE Barchart Brief newsletter keeps you in the know. Sign up now! Trade Desk stock has been a big disappointment for its investors since the start of this year. At the time of writing, it's down well over 50% versus its high in early January. What a CFO Transition Means for Trade Desk Stock The unexpected leadership turnover added to investor woes this morning as it raises concerns about strategic continuity, especially as TTD faces competitive pressure from the likes of Amazon (AMZN). Schenkein's surprise exit after a decade of financial leadership signals uncertainty at a time when macro headwinds are already expected to result in revenue deceleration in Q3. BofA Downgrades TTD Shares to Underperform Bank of America's senior analyst Jessica Ehrlich cautions against buying the post-earnings dip in Trade Desk shares mostly because of competition and execution-related risks. While the Nasdaq-listed firm may still continue to growth its revenue by double-digit percentages, 'it's challenging to justify the premium multiple it has historically received,' she told clients in a research note today. On Friday, Ehrlich downgraded TTD stock to 'Underperform' and slashed her price target in more than half to $55 only, roughly in line with the price at which it's trading at the time of writing. How Wall Street Recommends Playing Trade Desk Note that Wall Street had a consensus 'Moderate Buy' rating on Trade Desk stock tied to an average price target of about $91 heading into its earnings release. However, it's well within reason to expect downward revisions after TTD's financial and operational updates on Friday. On the date of publication, Wajeeh Khan did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error al recuperar los datos Inicia sesión para acceder a tu cartera de valores Error al recuperar los datos Error al recuperar los datos Error al recuperar los datos Error al recuperar los datos
CNBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Trade Desk tanks almost 40% on CFO departure, tariff concerns and competition from Amazon
Shares of The Trade Desk plummeted almost 40% on Friday and headed for their worst day on record after the ad-tech company announced the departure of its CFO and analysts expressed concerns about rising competition from Amazon. The Trade Desk, which went public in 2016, suffered its steepest prior drop in February, when the shares fell 33% on a revenue miss. In its second-quarter earnings report late Thursday, the company beat expectations on earnings and revenue, but the results failed to impress investors. The Trade Desk, which specializes in providing technology to companies that want to target users across the web, said finance chief Laura Schenkein is leaving the job and being replaced by Alex Kayyal, who has been working as a partner at Lightspeed Ventures. While some analysts were uneasy about the sudden change in the top finance role, the bigger concern is Amazon's growing role in the online ad market, as well as the potential impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs on ad spending. Amazon has emerged as a significant player in the digital advertising market in recent years, and is now third behind Google and Meta. Last week, Amazon reported a 23% increase in ad revenue for the second quarter to $15.7 billion, which beat estimates. Amazon's ad business has largely been tied to its own platforms, with brands paying up so they can get discovered on the sprawling marketplace. However, Amazon's demand-side platform (DSP), which allows brands to programmatically place ads across a wider swath of internet properties, is gaining more resonance in the market. "Amazon is now unlocking access to traditionally exclusive 'premium' ad inventory across the open internet, validating the strength of its DSP and suggesting The Trade Desk's value proposition could erode over time," Wedbush analysts wrote on Friday. The Wedbush analysts lowered their rating on The Trade Desk to the equivalent of hold from buy, and cited Amazon's recent ad integration with Disney as a sign of the company's aggressiveness. Executives at The Trade Desk were asked about Amazon on the call, and responded by suggesting that the companies don't really compete, emphasizing that Amazon is conflicted because it will always prioritize its own properties. "A scaled independent DSP like The Trade Desk becomes essential as we help advertisers buy across everything and that we have to do that without conflict or compromise," CEO Jeff Green said on the call. "It is my understanding that Amazon nearly doubled the supply of Prime Video inventory in the recent months. That creates a number of conflicts." For the second quarter, The Trade Desk reported a 19% increase in year-over-year revenue to $694 million, topping the $685 million estimate, according to analysts polled by LSEG. Adjusted earnings per share of 41 cents beat estimates by a penny. Looking to the third quarter, the Trump administration's tariffs were also a theme, as the company forecast revenue of at least $717 million, representing growth of 14% at minimum. "From a macro standpoint, some of the world's largest brands are absolutely facing pressure and some amount of uncertainty," Green said. "Some have to respond more than others to tariffs. Many are managing inflation worries and the related pricing that comes with that." With Friday's slump, The Trade Desk shares are now down 53% for the year, while the S&P 500 is up about 9%. The Trade Desk was added to the S&P 500 in June.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Trade Desk stock crashes, falls 38% as growth slows, company replaces CFO
Shares of the Trade Desk (TTD) plunged nearly 40% shortly after the market open on Friday. The company reported a slowdown in growth and a change in its C-suite late Thursday. Revenue for the ad tech company rose 19% over the prior year to $694 million. Earnings tallied $0.41 per share, up 4% from the prior year. Wall Street forecasts had expected the company to report revenue of $685.5 million and EPS of $0.41. The company guided to a further slowdown in topline growth, however, forecasting current quarter revenue would reach "at least" $717 million, implying annual growth closer to 14%. The Trade Desk also announced that its CFO, Laura Schenkein, would transition out of the role later this month, with board member Alex Kayyal set to take the post. Kayyal joined the company's board in February. "The company's 3Q outlook implies a deceleration in underlying growth and makes it harder to dismiss recent concerns," analysts at Bank of America wrote in a research note published Friday morning. The firm downgraded the stock to Underperform and dropped its price target to $50 from $130. Shares were trading near $54 early Friday. The Trade Desk's stock is down nearly 40% across the past year after Friday morning's drop, while the S&P 500 Advertising sub-index is down more than 35% over the same timeframe. The stock was added to the S&P 500 on July 18. The Trade Desk said it leaned on product innovation and its growth in customer segments, including retail media and connected TV, in a press release announcing its earnings. "The first half of 2025 has been defined by meaningful innovation across our platform," co-founder and CEO Jeff Green said. "Kokai is helping advertisers drive better results by integrating more data into every decision, using AI as a co-pilot, and unlocking the full potential of first-party data,'' he said. Bank of America noted that the company missed earnings for the first time at the end of last year, and supporters of the company attributed that to poor execution on its Kokai rollout, which could be reset. Still, the firm pointed to competitive pressures and questioned "whether [the company] could sustain 20%+ long-term growth to support its premium valuation." "While we see several potential long-term growth drivers for TTD, in our view visibility into the timing and magnitude of these benefits is limited," the firm wrote. "Streaming ad market adoption has been slower than some anticipated and competitive pressures (i.e. Amazon) could also be headwinds to TTD's growth in the coming years." Jake Conley is a breaking news reporter covering US equities for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X at @byjakeconley or email him at 登入存取你的投資組合
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why The Trade Desk Stock Tumbled Nearly 40% Friday
Key Takeaways The Trade Desk shares cratered Friday after the firm that helps businesses run ad campaigns warned tariffs are limiting big ad spending. CEO Jeff Green said large companies are feeling pressure from tariffs, and that affects its business. The Trade Desk also named a new Trade Desk (TTD) shares plunged Friday after the provider of software to help businesses run ad campaigns warned that new U.S. tariffs are putting a crimp on advertising spending. The company also announced a CFO change. The stock was down nearly 40% around $54 per share in recent trading, erasing all of its recent gains on its addition to the S&P 500 last month. It's lost more than half its value since the year started. CEO Jeff Green said in a call with analysts that some of the large companies that use its services are facing pressure from tariffs. "The impact of tariffs and related policies on these businesses are very real,' he said, according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense, adding 'we see the effects that are directly impacting them.' The company reported mixed second-quarter results. Revenue rose 18.7% year-over-year to $694 million, above the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha. However, adjusted earnings per share of $0.41 came in just short of forecasts. The Trade Desk also announced that current board member Alex Kayyal would become the new CFO, replacing Laura Schenkein, who will remain with the firm through the end of the year to help with the transition. She held the position for two years. Read the original article on Investopedia
