Should You Buy The Trade Desk Stock At $34?

Core Viewpoint - The Trade Desk, Inc. (TTD) stock has recently experienced a significant decline of 7.5%, attributed to short-term market sentiment rather than fundamental business issues, with the stock currently priced at $33.81. Despite this pullback, the company's strong operational execution and solid financial standing suggest that it is fairly valued rather than discounted [2][3]. Company Overview - The Trade Desk has a market capitalization of $16 billion and provides a self-service cloud platform for managing data-driven digital advertising campaigns globally [5]. Valuation - TTD's valuation appears elevated compared to the broader market, indicating that the stock is currently fairly priced [6]. Growth - The company has demonstrated strong growth, with an average revenue increase of 23.5% over the last three years. In the past 12 months, revenues rose by 21%, from $2.3 billion to $2.8 billion, and quarterly revenues increased by 17.7% to $739 million [8]. Profitability - TTD's operating income for the last 12 months was $528 million, resulting in an operating margin of 18.9%. The company generated nearly $881 million in operating cash flow, with a cash flow margin of 31.6%, and reported a net income of approximately $439 million, reflecting a net margin of around 15.7% [9]. Financial Stability - At the end of the most recent quarter, TTD had a debt of $376 million, leading to a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.3%. The company holds $1.4 billion in cash, which is 24.3% of its total assets of $5.9 billion [10]. Downturn Resilience - TTD has historically underperformed compared to the S&P 500 during economic downturns, with significant declines observed during the 2022 inflation shock and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The stock has shown a tendency to recover fully from these downturns, but the speed and extent of recovery have been slower than the broader market [11][13].