The Trade Desk introduced Kokai Zuma, “the latest release of Kokai, bringing new agentic AI capabilities and a more intuitive user experience”, and Netflix expanded its integration with the ad-buying platform, according to the company’s third-quarter results release on 9 November.
Revenue was $736 million, down 0.5% from $739 million a year earlier. The company guided fourth-quarter revenue to at least $755 million. Fourth-quarter 2025 revenue was $846.8 million, by our arithmetic from its 2025 10-K, so the floor of the guidance is 10.8% below the year-earlier quarter.
Business Pill · AI Agents Explained
An evergreen Business Engineer explainer on AI agents, from answering to doing. It teaches the general idea only and does not discuss The Trade Desk.
The key insight: The Trade Desk guided fourth-quarter revenue to at least $755 million. By our arithmetic from its 2025 10-K, fourth-quarter 2025 revenue was $846.8 million, so the floor of the guidance is 10.8% below the year-earlier quarter, in a release that leads its product news with Kokai Zuma and agentic AI.
Net income fell to $38 million, or $0.08 a diluted share, from $116 million, or $0.23. Adjusted EBITDA was $266 million, a 36% margin, against $317 million and 43% a year earlier. Non-GAAP diluted earnings were $0.33 a share, against $0.45.
The quarter included $44.3 million of restructuring charges under a 2026 Restructuring Plan, mainly severance, which the company excluded from adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net income. Customer retention stayed above 95%.
A post on X by Wall St Engine put the consensus estimate for third-quarter revenue at $650 million and for fourth-quarter revenue at $685 million; those estimates are the poster’s, not the company’s.
Quarterly revenue from The Trade Desk’s 8-K Exhibit 99.1 of 9 November 2026 and its 10-Qs; the Q4 2026 bar is the company’s guidance of at least $755 million. Q4 2025 revenue ($846.8 million) and the 10.8% gap are our arithmetic from the 2025 10-K.
Kokai, Agents and Netflix
The release says Netflix will let advertisers, “beginning in November”, use first-party and third-party data to target audiences on Netflix through Kokai, “with in-platform measurement capabilities expected to follow”. Netflix had already joined the company’s Sellers and Publishers 500+ programme. Wall St Engine also flagged the Netflix change on X.
The release also lists a partner’s agents: Olyzon “launched an agentic orchestration platform, with agents live across DSPs including The Trade Desk”. Gracenote announced its first DSP integration with the company, with show-level CTV targeting.
Where the Costs Went
Total operating expenses rose to $643.4 million from $578.2 million. Platform operations rose to $200.2 million from $162.2 million, and technology and development to $147.3 million from $127.9 million. Income from operations fell to $92.6 million from $161.2 million.
The board approved another $731 million of share repurchases, bringing the amount available to $1 billion. Adjusted EBITDA guidance for the fourth quarter is at least $280 million.
As we read the release, The Trade Desk is selling two things at once: Kokai as the place where AI agents and premium video meet ad buyers, and a cost reset, with $44.3 million of restructuring charges excluded from adjusted earnings.
As we read the income statement, revenue held almost flat year on year while platform operations costs rose to $200.2 million from $162.2 million, the largest increase among the operating-expense lines.
Jeff Green, Co-Founder and CEO of The Trade Desk, in the results release
“We are moving with greater urgency across the company, strengthening how we engage with our largest customers, improving the platform through innovations such as Zuma, Audience Unlimited, agentic AI, and advancing a new approach to measurement designed to help marketers better understand what is actually driving businessgrowth.”
Three Implications
FOR ADVERTISERS The release says that beginning in November advertisers can use first-party and third-party data to target audiences on Netflix through Kokai, with in-platform measurement expected to follow.
FOR AI AGENT BUILDERS The release says Olyzon launched an agentic orchestration platform with agents live across DSPs including The Trade Desk.
FOR INVESTORS The board added $731 million to the buyback, bringing the amount available to $1 billion, while adjusted EBITDA margin fell to 36% from 43%.
The framework puts it this way: “Your product stops being the thing companies buy and becomes the thing other systems assume exists.”
As we read it, the release reads like a bid for that position: Netflix audiences reached through Kokai, and outside agents from Olyzon running on The Trade Desk. The framework predates these results and does not discuss The Trade Desk.
What Is Not Established
The release does not say how much revenue Kokai Zuma, the Netflix integration or agentic tools bring in, or what drove the higher platform operations costs. Consensus figures are from a post on X, not the release. The 10.8% gap is our arithmetic and applies only at the floor of the guidance.
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The Trade Desk reported third-quarter revenue of $736 million, down 0.5%, put agentic AI and Netflix targeting at the front of its Kokai news, and guided fourth-quarter revenue to at least $755 million, a floor 10.8% below the year-earlier quarter by our arithmetic.
A note on sourcing. Results, guidance, product and partner facts and quotations are from The Trade Desk’s third-quarter 2026 results release (8-K Exhibit 99.1) of 9 November 2026; earlier quarters are from its 10-K and 10-Qs. Consensus figures are as posted by Wall St Engine on X. Q4 2025 revenue and the 10.8% gap are our arithmetic.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
