The Trade Desk Jumps 8% Ahead of Earnings; Magnite Gains 2%, AppLovin Dips

The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) stock climbed 8% to $14 in morning trading on November 9 as investors positioned ahead of the company's Q3 2026 earnings report, which was expected that day though the company had not confirmed the date, according to 24/7 Wall St. The rally follows a difficult period after the Q2 2026 report on August 6 missed revenue and earnings expectations and triggered a leadership overhaul that included new chief financial, marketing, and commercial officers. In August, management guided Q3 revenue to at least $650 million and adjusted EBITDA to approximately $160 million, both below Q2 results when revenue rose 3% year over year to $715.06 million and adjusted EBITDA reached $241.28 million. The company also cut its workforce by 15% after the Q2 miss, with CEO Jeff Green telling staff the company would run on "smaller pods and smaller scrums, but with greater focus." On November 3, The Trade Desk announced that co-founder Dave Pickles, who stepped down as chief technology officer in 2023, is returning to lead a new CTO Council focused on artificial intelligence advertising workflows. Competition remains intense, with Amazon building a fast-growing ad business that chases the same budgets.

Magnite (NASDAQ:MGNI) shares rose 2% to $28.01 after reporting Q3 2026 results on November 4 that exceeded expectations. Revenue increased 13.8% year over year to $204.20 million, and CTV contribution excluding traffic acquisition costs rose 39%. CEO Michael G. Barrett stated that full-year political spend should reach "nearly three times our initial forecast," and Magnite raised its full-year outlook across key metrics. The stock had climbed from $22.37 at the report to $27.39 a day later.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) shares fell 1% to $385.91 despite Q3 2026 revenue rising 55.5% year over year to $2.18 billion, beating consensus estimates, and the company guiding Q4 2026 revenue to $2.37 billion to $2.40 billion. The pullback appeared to be profit taking after a sharp run that took the stock from $245 at the report to $391.22 a day later.

The three companies occupy different positions in ad tech. The Trade Desk operates as a demand-side platform for agencies and brands buying ads across CTV, mobile, display, audio, and digital out-of-home. Magnite is an independent sell-side platform helping publishers and streaming media owners sell inventory, with CTV as its largest channel. AppLovin's mobile-first platform grew from mobile gaming and is expanding into consumer and e-commerce advertisers using its own prediction models, leaving it less tied to agency budgets that drive The Trade Desk. Investors will watch whether The Trade Desk's Q3 revenue tops management's floor while workforce cuts trim costs. Supporters cite customer retention above 95% for more than a decade and $269 million remaining on the buyback authorization as of June 30, while bears argue growth has slowed sharply, brand budgets remain soft, and Amazon keeps drawing ad dollars.