The shares of $TTD (-15,79 %) Trade Desk fell dramatically in value following the presentation of the quarterly figures and the announcement of a change in management. In after-hours trading on the Nasdaq, the stock plummeted by more than 30 percent to 61.72 US dollars - one of the biggest daily losses since the IPO. The reason for this was not the balance sheet itself, but above all the subdued outlook and the surprising resignation of CFO Laura Schenkein.
Schenkein is leaving the company after more than ten years and will be replaced by Alex Kayyal on August 21. Kayyal was already a member of the Board and previously headed the venture business at Salesforce. Schenkein will remain active as a non-executive director until the end of the year.
Despite the negative market reaction, Trade Desk was able to surprise positively in terms of turnover in the second quarter: Revenues increased by 19 percent year-on-year to USD 694 million, slightly above expectations of USD 686 million. Adjusted EBITDA grew by 12 percent to USD 271 million with a margin of 39 percent - also above estimates of USD 261 million. Net profit climbed to USD 90 million or USD 0.18 per share (previous year: USD 85 million or USD 0.17).
On an adjusted basis, earnings amounted to 41 cents per share, just one cent above the consensus. The customer retention rate remained stable at over 95%.
The outlook for the current quarter was criticized. Although Trade Desk expects sales of at least 717 million US dollars - just above the Bloomberg-consensus of 716.2 million US dollars - but in view of the 56% rise in the share price in the previous three months, investors had obviously hoped for stronger momentum. The forecast adjusted EBITDA of around USD 277 million was also exactly in line with market expectations.
Source: wallstreetonline