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 advertising software stocks, starting with The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD).

The digital advertising market is large, growing, and becoming more diverse, both in terms of audiences and media. As a result, there is a growing need for software that enables advertisers to use data to automate and optimize ad placements.

The 6 advertising software stocks we track reported a solid Q4; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 3%. while next quarter's revenue guidance was 1.4% above consensus. Stocks have been under pressure as inflation (despite slowing) makes their long-dated profits less valuable, but advertising software stocks held their ground better than others, with the share prices up 17.3% on average since the previous earnings results.

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 $605.8 million, up 23.4% year on year, topping analyst expectations by 4%. It was an impressive quarter for the company, with optimistic revenue guidance for the next quarter and a solid beat of analysts' billings estimates.

“Once again The Trade Desk outpaced nearly all areas of digital advertising in 2023, with $1.95 billion of revenue representing 23% growth year over year and a record $9.6 billion of spend on our platform. At the same time, we continue to generate significant profitability and cash flow, which allows us to remain at the bleeding edge of our industry, with innovations such as Kokai. Our results are testament to the growing value that advertisers are placing on the open internet versus the limitations of walled gardens,” said Jeff Green, founder and CEO of The Trade Desk.

The stock is up 14.7% since the results and currently trades at $86.9.

Read why we think that The Trade Desk is one of the best advertising software stocks, our full report is free.

Best Q4: PubMatic (NASDAQ:PUBM)

Founded in 2006 as an online ad platform helping ad sellers, Pubmatic (NASDAQ: PUBM) is a fully integrated cloud-based programmatic advertising platform.

PubMatic reported revenues of $84.6 million, up 13.9% year on year, outperforming analyst expectations by 8.2%. It was a stunning quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in its gross margin and optimistic revenue guidance for the next quarter.

PubMatic achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The stock is up 42.5% since the results and currently trades at $23.62.

Is now the time to buy PubMatic? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.

Weakest Q4: 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 $172.2 million, up 28.9% year on year, in line with analyst expectations. It was a weak quarter for the company, with full-year revenue guidance missing analysts' expectations and underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.

DoubleVerify had the weakest performance against analyst estimates and weakest full-year guidance update in the group. The stock is down 16.3% since the results and currently trades at $32.84.

Read our full analysis of DoubleVerify's results here.

Zeta (NYSE:ZETA)

Co-founded by former Apple CEO John Scully, Zeta Global (NYSE:ZETA) provides software and data analytics tools that help companies market their products to billions of customers.

Zeta reported revenues of $210.3 million, up 20.1% year on year, surpassing analyst expectations by 1.3%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with full-year revenue guidance beating analysts' expectations but a decline in its gross margin.

Zeta pulled off the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The company added 12 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to reach a total of 452. The stock is up 11.9% since the results and currently trades at $12.04.

Read our full, actionable report on Zeta here, it's free.

LiveRamp (NYSE:RAMP)

Started in 2011 as a spin-out of RapLeaf, LiveRamp (NYSE:RAMP) is a software-as-a-service provider that helps companies better target their marketing by merging offline and online data about their customers.

LiveRamp reported revenues of $173.9 million, up 9.6% year on year, surpassing analyst expectations by 1.2%. It was a solid quarter for the company, with accelerating customer growth and full-year revenue guidance topping analysts' expectations.

LiveRamp had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The company added 6 enterprise customers paying more than $1m annually to reach a total of 105. The stock is down 15.7% since the results and currently trades at $35.37.

Read our full, actionable report on LiveRamp here, it's free.

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