The Trade Desk: Strong Buy on Kokai’s Transformative Impact

We initiate on TTD with a Strong Buy and a $132 PT. The Trade Desk, Inc. enables agencies and brands

to execute optimized digital campaigns via a cloud-based platform that powers media buying across all major ad channels and devices. Underneath the noise in this crowded landscape, mgmt has methodically engineered a high-velocity mix-shift: Two-thirds of client spend already on Kokai, TTD's new AI-based engine, lowers campaign costs (by up to 42%), expands GMs, & clears the runway for a step-change in scalability. We believe the Street is not fully accounting for the compounded effect of Kokai adoption, accelerating CTV/video mix (60% by FY26E), & the bottom-line impact of a sustainable $400M in annual buybacks. On pace for FY26E EPS of $1.65 — some 45% ahead of Street — our view of sustained outperformance drives an 80x fwd PE, despite the threat of near-term insider sales and cyclicality discounting. As OpenPath and Sincera close the value leakage endemic to legacy programmatic pipes, incremental billable spend and take-rate uplift emerge as meaningful, rather than hypothetical. Regulatory actions are driving a leveling of the playing field, while the firm’s $1.7B net cash position insulates it from rate and macro noise. The stock, trading at a near-trough multiple despite an accelerating algorithmic flywheel, represents mechanical skepticism against a demonstrably improving business - an imbalance that allows room for re-rating. While insider selling is expected, and likely to cause episodic volatility, we find the risk/reward skew