The Trade Desk Stalls At 3% Growth
The Trade Desk posted $715.1 million in second quarter revenue, up just 3% year over year and roughly $36 million short of forecasts, sending shares down more than 20% in after hours trading and extending a run that has erased over half the stock’s value this year. CEO Jeff Green pinned the miss on automotive and CPG, categories that together make up about a quarter of the business, while flagging 50% growth outside the top 500 advertisers and better than 30% growth across EMEA and APAC. Why it matters: Wall Street has stopped debating TTD’s demand and started interrogating its price, specifically a take rate parked within a point or two of 20% for a decade while Amazon markets a zero margin DSP and Google’s Buyer Direct caps vendor and data fees near 10%.
AdExchanger: The Trade Desk’s Revenue Growth Stalls As Big Brands Tighten Their Belts
https://www.adexchanger.com/programmatic/the-trade-desks-revenue-growth-stalls-as-big-brands-tighten-their-belts/

Green’s Cure For Cheap Buying Is Measurement Nobody Can Dispute
Green argued that advertisers are handing their decisioning to sellers in exchange for lower transaction costs, a trade he called deliberately short sighted, and one that only survives because last click and last view remain the industry standard. TTD now has a new measurement framework in alpha, built with major media, measurement and data partners, running alongside Audience Unlimited, a flat subscription for audience data that helped one global advertiser cut both cost per unique household and data CPM by more than 25%. Why it matters: Joint business plans reached 217 clients, up 38% year over year, and grew six times faster than the rest of the business, evidence that shared planning frameworks outperform campaign by campaign buying if TTD can ship at the pace the market now demands.
Digiday: The Trade Desk is betting part of its recovery on measurement nobody can argue with
https://digiday.com/media-buying/the-trade-desk-is-betting-part-of-its-recovery-on-measurement-nobody-can-argue-with/

Nielsen Buys DoubleVerify For $2.15 Billion
Nielsen agreed to acquire DoubleVerify in an all cash deal worth approximately $2.15 billion, or $13.60 a share, a 30% premium to August trading levels, with the combined company projecting more than $4 billion in annual revenue once it closes by the first quarter of 2027. The deal lands less than a year after Novacap took Integral Ad Science private for $1.9 billion, meaning both of the industry’s largest verification businesses will soon sit outside public markets; DV’s Q2 revenue grew just 3% to $193.8 million, with programmatic activation down 1%. Why it matters: Nielsen used the word “independent” nine times in its announcement for a reason, because advertisers must now decide whether verification signals living inside an audience measurement currency can still be treated as neutral.
AdExchanger: Nielsen Is Acquiring DoubleVerify For $2.15 Billion
https://www.adexchanger.com/measurement/nielsen-is-acquiring-doubleverify-for-2-15-billion/

Magnite Wants The Decisioning Layer, Not The DSP Crown
Magnite reported $193 million in second quarter revenue, up 11% year over year, with CTV contribution ex TAC hitting $97 million, a 36% jump, and raised both its 2026 outlook and its margin expansion expectations. CEO Michael Barrett said richer publisher data, commerce signals and AI are pulling valuable decisions toward the sell side, with Walmart Connect, Fanatics, CVS Media Exchange, Best Buy and PayPal Ads already routing first party data through Magnite into CTV and open internet campaigns. Why it matters: Barrett insists Magnite is not replacing DSPs, yet packaging audiences, routing demand and pricing impressions is precisely the work buyers used to own; his line that nobody will make an easy buck “slinging banners” any longer is a repricing notice for the entire supply chain.
AdExchanger: Magnite Doesn’t Want To Be A DSP. It Just Wants To Own The Decisioning Layer
https://www.adexchanger.com/platforms/magnite-doesnt-want-to-be-a-dsp-it-just-wants-to-own-the-decisioning-layer/

Kroger’s AI shopping assistant has ads at launch
Kroger switched on an AI assistant across most of its grocery banners last week with product listing ads live from day one, a sharp break from Walmart, which waited a full year before monetizing Sparky. Why it matters: Kroger Precision Marketing’s profit grew more than 20% year over year in Q1 and 95% of Kroger transactions tie to a loyalty card, so brands already running PLA campaigns inherit AI surface area with no additional setup and closed loop purchase measurement attached.
Digiday: Kroger’s AI shopping assistant has ads at launch
https://digiday.com/marketing/krogers-ai-shopping-assistant-has-ads-at-launch/

IAB Releases “Measuring Visibility in the AI Era”
With more than 20 vendors now selling AI visibility measurement on incompatible methodologies that can produce different answers for the same brand, IAB published a standardized framework organized around four metric tiers: Presence, Prominence, Portrayal and Persuasion. Why it matters: The playbook splits vendor data into directional and decision grade, handing CMOs the vocabulary to reject numbers that are not rigorous enough on query volume, sample size and reproducibility to justify moving budget.
IAB: IAB Releases “Measuring Visibility in the AI Era” to Help Brands, Publishers, and Agencies Navigate AI-Powered Discovery
https://www.iab.com/news/iab-releases-measuring-visibility-in-the-ai-era/

Teads Sues Google, Claiming Some Disputed Ad Practices Were Never Really Retired
Teads filed an 85 page complaint in the Southern District of New York alleging that Google’s tying of Google Ads to its AdX exchange cost rival exchanges roughly 6.88 trillion impressions between 2017 and 2023, though the filing does not disclose the methodology behind that figure. Why it matters: Teads is the fifth major supply side platform to sue Google in the past year, and CEO David Kostman frames the action as recovering lost value, a phrase that should prompt every publisher to re examine what its historical yield ought to have been.
Adweek: Teads Sues Google, Claiming Some Disputed Ad Practices Were Never Really Retired
https://www.adweek.com/media/teads-sues-google-claiming-some-disputed-ad-practices-were-never-really-retired/