This Stock Up Nearly 900% in the Past Decade Is a Rare Bargain Opportunity
Key Points
The Trade Desk's revenue growth has slowed recently.
The Trade Desk could be partnering with OpenAI.
- 10 stocks we like better than The Trade Desk ›
The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) has been an amazing stock to own over the past decade. It's up nearly 900% in this time frame, although at its peak it was up more than 4,000%. The Trade Desk has seen its revenue growth slow in recent quarters, which caused it to lose its premium valuation.
However, I think the sell-off has been too harsh on the stock, and now looks like a perfect buying opportunity to scoop up a long-term winner. The Trade Desk could deliver incredible returns if it can return to its all-time high, but it must restart its growth first.
Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »
Image source: Getty Images.
The Trade Desk may have just made the biggest partnership in its history
The Trade Desk operates a buy-side ad platform, which helps advertisers place their ads in the best spot on the internet. Whether it's the margins of a web page, during a commercial break on a streaming service, or a podcast, The Trade Desk is helping its clients maximize their spending.
Its platform is incredibly sticky, and 95% of its clients remained with The Trade Desk this past quarter -- something it has achieved for the past 13 years straight. However, The Trade Desk needs to find a way to kick-start its growth again, as that is what investors are most concerned with.
During Q4 2025, The Trade Desk's revenue rose 14% year over year. While that's not necessarily a bad growth rate, it's a far cry from where it has been over the past few years.
TTD Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts
To make matters worse, The Trade Desk projects 10% revenue growth during Q1 2026. That's not going to cut it for a company that is supposed to be an ad technology leader, as there are several competitors that are growing much faster than this.
However, The Trade Desk may have found a way to kick-start its growth. Currently, the company is in talks with OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, about how it could sell ads on its generative AI platform. While there isn't a final decision on whether The Trade Desk will be its partner, it's a great sign that could open The Trade Desk to a new market.
If those rumors are true, The Trade Desk's revenue growth could kick-start itself again, eliminating the primary issue investors have with the stock. That would make today's 14.5 times forward earnings price tag look extremely cheap, making The Trade Desk one of the best bargains in the market right now.
Should you buy stock in The Trade Desk right now?
Before you buy stock in The Trade Desk, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and The Trade Desk wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $534,008!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,090,073!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 949% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 190% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of March 9, 2026.
Keithen Drury has positions in The Trade Desk. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends The Trade Desk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
