Why did The Trade Desk stock surge today? 'Exceptional' Q2, strong guidance boosts sentiment
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The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) shares surged more than 36% on Wednesday after the real-time programmatic advertising company delivered second-quarter results that topped estimates, with analysts praising the company for its "exceptional" execution.
Truist analyst Youssef Squali, who has a buy rating and a $100 price target on The Trade Desk (TTD) shares, said the stellar figures, along with its strong outlook, came despite the broader economic environment, "implying market share gains."
"Strength in [connected TV] and record new client relationships drove this performance, which is likely sustainable in [second-half 2022] given 100% Solimar adoption, continued momentum in CTV, in shopper [marketing] and in international, with the additional kicker of political spend around the midterms," Squali wrote in a note to clients.
Wednesday's rise of 36% in The Trade Desk (TTD) brings shares back to levels not seen since early April.
The Trade Desk (TTD) said second-quarter revenues grew 35% year-over-year to $377M, while operating expenses rose 72% to $375.2M, including a 177% increase in stock-based compensation. 
For the third-quarter, The Trade Desk (TTD) anticipates $385M in revenue, ahead of the $382.3M analysts were expecting. It also expects EBITDA to be about $140M.
Squali added that results from The Trade Desk (TTD) show the long-term thesis that advertisers are "more aggressively turning to data-driven, non-walled garden inventory consumption is playing out," with the company set to benefit, especially from connected TV.
Susquehanna analyst Shyam Patil, who has a positive rating and a $95 price target on The Trade Desk (TTD), noted it was a "standout quarter" for the company, especially in light of the fact that many of its peers reported "challenging results" and lowered their outlooks. 
Patil said "this is only the beginning" for The Trade Desk's (TTD) multi-year secular growth story and its key drivers are "gaining momentum," with "significant upside ahead."
Raymond James analyst Andrew Marok said the results were largely driven by momentum in connected TV and the company is not seeing the same headwinds from the spot market that others, such as Roku (ROKU) have cited. 

Last month, The Trade Desk (TTD) Chief Data Officer Michelle Hulst left her role at the company.