The Trade Desk lays off 15% of workforce after -70% crash: What's next for TTD

The Trade Desk announced on September 4, 2026, that it would cut 15% of its workforce. CEO Jeff Green shared the decision in an employee memo and on the company's website The Current. Based on figures published in February 2026 for the period ending December 31, 2025—when the adtech company employed 3,843 full-time employees—more than 500 people are affected. The company has budgeted severance and benefits costs between 39 and 51 million dollars.

Stock loses 70% within a year

The layoffs come against the backdrop of a dramatic stock price decline. The Trade Desk has lost around 70% of its market value over the past twelve months. From the peak at the end of 2024, the decline reaches nearly 90%. Richard Kramer, an analyst at Arete Research, called the stock "one of the worst-performing titles in the S&P 500 over the past two years".

The company's shares, which serves as a technology platform for programmatic advertising, are therefore among the biggest losers in the broad US stock index. The S&P 500 was trading at 7,685.63 points on September 9, 2026, after a slight daily loss of 0.22%.

Weakest quarter since the pandemic

In August 2026, The Trade Desk published disappointing results for the completed quarter. Revenue growth was just 3% year-over-year—the weakest quarterly growth since the pandemic. The company also missed Wall Street's earnings expectations. CEO Green acknowledged at the time that the company had "not met the standards we set for ourselves" and announced plans to strengthen execution, improve the platform, and sharpen focus.

Analysts expected revenue declines of 15% for the second half of 2026. These forecasts formed the backdrop for the measures now decided upon.

Restructuring into smaller teams

Green justified the workforce reduction with an organizational realignment. The company should operate in future in "smaller pods and smaller scrums, but with greater focus". The company's vision and mission would remain unchanged, Green emphasized in his announcement. He also pointed to financial stability: The Trade Desk has approximately 1.5 billion dollars in cash while being debt-free.

Chris Roth, Head of Investor Relations at The Trade Desk, noted during an Evercore ISI investor tour in September 2026 that the company had never "significantly scaled back" its cost structure before and there were "significant opportunities" to change this.

Nearly complete management overhaul

Parallel to the operational downturn, several top executives left the company. The Chief Finance Officer, Chief Revenue Officer, Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, and four board members departed in recent months. The Trade Desk replaced the positions of CFO and CMO and brought on a Chief Commercial Officer and two new board members. Analyst Kramer from Arete Research noted that the company had "lost its entire C-level leadership".

Dispute with major customer Publicis settled

In addition, a public dispute with French advertising group Publicis Groupe weighed on the business. In March 2026, Publicis told customers it no longer recommended The Trade Desk after an independent review of its fee structure. In June 2026, both companies announced in a joint statement that they had settled their differences.

Intense competition in the adtech sector

The Trade Desk operates in an adtech market characterized by increasing competition. The company offers a Demand-Side Platform (DSP)—software through which advertisers can automatically purchase digital advertising inventory. The sector is experiencing strong price pressure and technological disruption, such as changes in data privacy regulations and the end of third-party cookies.

The combination of stock crash, management departures, weak financial performance, and customer disputes marks a turbulent phase for the former growth darling. The restructuring now announced aims to increase operational efficiency and return the company to a growth trajectory.