Wrapping up Q4 earnings, we look at the numbers and key takeaways for the advertising software stocks, including AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) and its peers.

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 7 advertising software stocks we track reported a mixed Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.6% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 33% since the latest earnings results.

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 both a mobile game studio and provider of marketing and monetization tools for mobile app developers.

AppLovin reported revenues of $1.37 billion, up 44% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 8.6%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with EBITDA guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations.

AppLovin scored the biggest analyst estimates beat of the whole group. Investor expectations, however, were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wishing for even better results (analysts’ consensus estimates are those published by big banks and advisory firms, not the investors who make buy and sell decisions). The stock is down 27.4% since reporting and currently trades at $276.06.

We think AppLovin is a good business, but is it a buy today? Read our full report here, it’s free.

Best Q4: Zeta (NYSE: ZETA)

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

Zeta reported revenues of $314.7 million, up 49.6% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 6.7%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ billings estimates and EBITDA guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Zeta pulled off the fastest revenue growth and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The stock is down 36.6% since reporting. It currently trades at $13.06.

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

Weakest 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 $741 million, up 22.3% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 2.3%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted EBITDA guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations and a significant miss of analysts’ billings estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 55.9% since the results and currently trades at $53.98.significantly and a significant miss of analysts’ billings estimates.

Read our full analysis of The Trade Desk’s results here.

Integral Ad Science (NASDAQ: IAS)

Founded in 2009, Integral Ad Science (NASDAQ: IAS) provides digital advertising verification and optimization solutions, ensuring that ads are viewable by real people in brand-safe environments across various platforms and devices.

Integral Ad Science reported revenues of $153 million, up 14% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 2.7%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Integral Ad Science had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is down 20.4% since reporting and currently trades at $7.69.

Read our full, actionable report on Integral Ad Science 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 $195.4 million, up 12.4% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 1.7%. More broadly, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but decelerating customer growth.

The company kept the number of enterprise customers paying more than $1 million annually flat at a total of 125. The stock is down 22.3% since reporting and currently trades at $26.81.

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

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has been on a steady path downward, easing back toward that 2% sweet spot. Fortunately (miraculously to some), all this tightening didn’t send the economy tumbling into a recession, so here we are, cautiously celebrating a soft landing. The cherry on top? Recent rate cuts (half a point in September 2024, a quarter in November) have propped up markets, especially after Trump’s November win lit a fire under major indices and sent them to all-time highs. However, there’s still plenty to ponder — tariffs, corporate tax cuts, and what 2025 might hold for the economy.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Quality Compounder Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

Join Paid Stock Investor Research

Help us make StockStory more helpful to investors like yourself. Join our paid user research session and receive a $50 Amazon gift card for your opinions. Sign up here.