(Bloomberg) — Trade Desk Inc. plummeted as much as 31% in extended trading Thursday after the digital advertising platform gave a weak revenue forecast for the current quarter, sending up a warning flare about the health of the ad market.
Meta Platforms Inc., Snap Inc. and Pinterest Inc., social-media companies that rely on advertising sales, also fell on news of Trade Desk’s outlook.
Revenue in the quarter ending in December will be at least $580 million, Ventura, California-based Trade Desk said in a statement. Analysts, on average, projected $610 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The shares fell as low as $52.74 after closing at $76.81. The stock had gained 71% this year through Thursday’s close.
Trade Desk provides advertising technology that’s an alternative to services offered by Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Meta and Amazon.com Inc. The ad-buying platform works with some of the world’s biggest advertisers and brands, including Warner Bros Discovery Inc., Walmart Inc. and NBCUniversal.
The forecast shows “that economic pressures may be weighing on the advertising market and revenue-growth reacceleration that’s modeled for 2024 may be premature,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Geetha Ranganathan and Kevin Near wrote in a research note.
Chief Executive Officer Jeff Green, speaking on a conference call after the forecast was released, said Trade Desk began seeing a reduction in spending beginning in October by businesses such as the auto industry and consumer electronics “specifically around cell phones and media and entertainment. Some of these industries have been recently impacted by strikes such as the US auto industry.”
Beginning this month, “we have seen spend stabilize,” Green said.
Analysts at Evercore pointed toward “brand spend weakness” due to the Israel-Hamas war and “caution among brand advertisers and agencies around ad spend during that time.”
The digital ad market seemed to be poised for a rebound after Meta, Snap and Pinterest topped revenue expectations in the recent quarter. But Meta shares slid when executives warned of soft advertiser spending. “We are very subject to volatility in the macro landscape,” Chief Financial Officer Susan Li told investors during a call. The revenue outlook for 2024 is “uncertain,” she said.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
