As the craze of earnings season draws to a close, here's a look back at some of the most exciting (and some less so) results from Q4. Today we are looking at the advertising software stocks, starting with LiveRamp (NYSE:RAMP).
The digital advertising market is large, growing and becoming more diverse, both in terms of audiences and media. This as a result drives a growing need for a software that enables advertisers to use data to automate and optimize ad placements.
The 5 advertising software stocks we track reported a mixed Q4; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 1.89%, while on average next quarter revenue guidance was 0.38% above consensus. The whole tech sector has been facing a sell-off since late last year and while some of the advertising software stocks have fared somewhat better, they have not been spared, with share price declining 11.9% since earnings, on average.
LiveRamp (NYSE:RAMP)
Started in 2011 as a spin-out of RapLeaf, LiveRamp (NYSE:RAMP) provides software as a service that helps companies better target their marketing by merging offline and online data about their customers.
LiveRamp reported revenues of $140.6 million, up 17.4% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 1.08%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with accelerating customer growth but an underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.
“LiveRamp is fast becoming critical data infrastructure for global brands,” said LiveRamp CEO Scott Howe.
LiveRamp delivered the slowest revenue growth of the whole group. The company added 6 enterprise customers paying more than $1m annually to a total of 86. The stock is down 15.3% since the results and currently trades at $37.62.
Is now the time to buy LiveRamp? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Best Q4: The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD)
Founded by former Microsoft engineers Jeff Green and Dave Pickles, The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) offers cloud-based software that uses data to help advertisers better plan, place and target their online ads.
The Trade Desk reported revenues of $395.5 million, up 23.6% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 1.52%. It was a strong quarter for the company, with a very optimistic guidance for the next quarter and a decent beat of analyst estimates.
The stock is down 14.4% since the results and currently trades at $68.80.
Is now the time to buy The Trade Desk? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Weakest Q4: PubMatic (NASDAQ:PUBM)
Founded in 2006, as an online ad platform focused on ad sellers, Pubmatic (NASDAQ: PUBM) is a fully integrated cloud-based programmatic advertising platform.
PubMatic reported revenues of $75.5 million, up 34.3% year on year, in line with analyst expectations. It was a weak quarter for the company, with a decline in gross margin and underwhelming guidance for the next quarter.
PubMatic had the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. The stock is down 11.2% since the results and currently trades at $27.15.
Read our full analysis of PubMatic's results here.
AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP)
Co-founded by Adam Foroughi who was frustrated with not being able to find a good solution to market his own dating app, AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) is a provider of marketing and monetization tools for mobile app developers and also operates a portfolio of mobile games.
AppLovin reported revenues of $793.4 million, up 55.6% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 2.2%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with a solid top-line growth but full-year guidance missing analysts' expectations.
AppLovin achieved the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest full year guidance update among the peers. The stock is down 23.6% since the results and currently trades at $52.51.
Read our full, actionable report on AppLovin here, it's free.
DoubleVerify (NYSE:DV)
When Oren Netzer saw a digital ad for US-based Target while sitting in his Tel Aviv apartment, he knew there was an unsolved problem, so he started DoubleVerify (NYSE: DV), a provider of advertising solutions to businesses that helps with ad verification, fraud prevention, and brand safety.
DoubleVerify reported revenues of $105.5 million, up 34.1% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 4.54%. It was a solid quarter for the company, with a strong top line growth and guidance for the next quarter above analysts' estimates.
DoubleVerify delivered the strongest analyst estimates beat and highest full year guidance raise among the peers. The stock is up 4.69% since the results and currently trades at $24.79.
Read our full, actionable report on DoubleVerify here, it's free.
The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned