The Trade Desk Just Fell to a Multi-Year Low. Contrarian Investors Are Paying Attention.

By Leo Sun – Mar 20, 2026 at 2:01PM ESTKey PointsThe Trade Desk’s stock has stumbled over the past few years.It finally looks attractively valued relative to its long-term growth potential.The Trade Desk (TTD +0.40%) was once a hot growth stock, but it's declined nearly 70% over the past five years and is now trading near a multi-year low. Let's see why this adtech leader lost its luster -- and why it might be a good buying opportunity for contrarian investors. Image source: Getty Images. What does The Trade Desk do?

The Trade Desk operates the world's largest independent demand-side platform (DSP) for digital ads. DSPs sell advertising space for automated ads on desktop, mobile, and connected TV (CTV) platforms. They usually work with sell-side platforms (SSPs), which help publishers sell their ad inventory. Big tech companies like Meta Platforms (META 2.43%) and Alphabet's (GOOG 2.57%) (GOOGL 2.59%) Google often bundle together DSPs, SSPs, and other adtech tools in their digital advertising platforms. However, they usually lock those advertisers and publishers into their own walled gardens of websites and apps. To break out of those ecosystems and reach the "open internet", advertisers often turn to independent DSPs. ExpandNASDAQ: TTDThe Trade DeskToday's Change(0.40%) $0.10Current Price$23.61Key Data PointsMarket Cap$11BDay's Range$23.20 - $24.4752wk Range$21.08 - $91.45Volume439KAvg Vol17MGross Margin78.63% To serve those customers, The Trade Desk offers Solimar, its unified platform for analyzing data, and Kokai, its AI-powered platform for planning, bidding, campaign optimization, and ad measurement tools. It's also been rolling out its Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) solution, which replaces traditional cookies on websites, and its new Ventura smart TV OS, which hosts its own ads. It's even bypassing SSPs with OpenPath, a platform that directly connects advertisers to publishers. Why did The Trade Desk's stock decline? From 2020 to 2025, its revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) grew at CAGRs of 28% and 33%, respectively. Most of that growth was driven by its CTV business, which profited from the growth of ad-supported streaming media services, rather than its slower-growing desktop and mobile platforms. From 2025 to 2028, analysts expect The Trade Desk's revenue and adjusted EBITDA to both grow at CAGRs of 11% as its CTV business expands and Kokai locks in more clients with its sticky AI services. It's also reportedly in talks with OpenAI to sell ads in ChatGPT.

The Trade Desk is still growing at a healthy rate, but its gradual slowdown and near-term macro headwinds for the advertising market likely drove the bulls away. But with an enterprise value of $9.6 billion, it looks historically cheap at just 7 times this year's adjusted EBITDA. That's why contrarian investors should pay close attention. If you expect The Trade Desk to continue pulling advertisers away from Meta and Google as it expands into a more diversified adtech company, its recent pullback could represent a great buying opportunity for patient investors.Read NextMar 20, 2026 •By Brett SchaferWhy The Trade Desk Stock Slipped This WeekMar 18, 2026 •By Jeremy BowmanThe Trade Desk Is Suddenly Bleeding Customers. Is It a Red Flag for the Adtech Stock?Mar 17, 2026 •By Jeremy BowmanWhy The Trade Desk Stock Swung 12% Lower TodayMar 16, 2026 •By Lawrence NgaAudience Unlimited Could Be The Trade Desk's Next Strategic TestMar 16, 2026 •By Will HealyThe Trade Desk Stock Isn't What It Was a Year Ago. Here's What Changed.Mar 14, 2026 •By Keithen Drury3 Reasons Why The Trade Desk Is a Screaming Buy Right NowAbout the AuthorLeo Sun is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst who has worked with the company since 2013, covering technology, consumer goods, industrial, and financial sectors. He became a self-made millionaire by age 40 through long-term investing, crediting lessons from Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch. Leo is a regular guest on CNBC Asia providing stock analysis on Chinese technology companies, including Tencent, Baidu, and Alibaba. He previously wrote for InvestorGuide and holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin.TMFSunLionX@TMFSunLionStocks MentionedThe Trade DeskNASDAQ: TTD$23.62(+0.47%)+$0.11AlphabetNASDAQ: GOOGL$299.17(-2.59%)-$7.96Meta PlatformsNASDAQ: META$591.85(-2.45%)-$14.85AlphabetNASDAQ: GOOG$297.91(-2.56%)-$7.82*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.