As the Q1 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the advertising software industry, including PubMatic (NASDAQ: PUBM) 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 strong Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 4.8% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.3% below.

Luckily, advertising software stocks have performed well with share prices up 10.5% on average since the latest earnings results.

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 $63.83 million, down 4.3% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2.8%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a mixed quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

“We are pleased with our Q1 performance, exceeding guidance on both the top and bottom line driven by the secular growth areas in our business. Ongoing investments in product innovation and go to market teams drove 21% year over year growth in our underlying business, with momentum carrying into April,” said Rajeev Goel, co-founder and CEO at PubMatic.

PubMatic delivered the slowest revenue growth of the whole group. The stock is up 10.5% since reporting and currently trades at $12.14.

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

Best Q1: 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 $616 million, up 25.4% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 7%. The business had a very strong quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 24.5% since reporting. It currently trades at $74.70.

Is now the time to buy The Trade Desk? Access our full analysis of the earnings results 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 $188.7 million, up 9.8% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 1.3%. Still, it was a mixed quarter as it posted full-year guidance of slowing revenue growth.

LiveRamp delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. The company added 3 enterprise customers paying more than $1 million annually to reach a total of 128. Interestingly, the stock is up 15.3% since the results and currently trades at $32.37.

Read our full analysis of LiveRamp’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 $134.1 million, up 17.1% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 3.2%. More broadly, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Integral Ad Science had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $8.15.

Read our full, actionable report on Integral Ad Science here, it’s free.

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 $264.4 million, up 35.6% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 4.1%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ billings estimates.

Zeta achieved the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The stock is down 5.1% since reporting and currently trades at $12.85.

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

Market Update

The Fed’s interest rate hikes throughout 2022 and 2023 have successfully cooled post-pandemic inflation, bringing it closer to the 2% target. Inflationary pressures have eased without tipping the economy into a recession, suggesting a soft landing. This stability, paired with recent rate cuts (0.5% in September 2024 and 0.25% in November 2024), fueled a strong year for the stock market in 2024. The markets surged further after Donald Trump’s presidential victory in November, with major indices reaching record highs in the days following the election. Still, questions remain about the direction of economic policy, as potential tariffs and corporate tax changes add uncertainty for 2025.

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