TTD vs GOOGL: The Trade Desk vs Google Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
The Trade Desk is the leading independent buy-side programmatic ad platform benefiting from CTV growth and the open internet, while Google controls both the buy-side and sell-side of digital advertising and faces antitrust pressure to separate those businesses. The Trade Desk wins if open internet and CTV advertising grow; Google wins if search advertising remains dominant.
TTD vs GOOGL is independent programmatic open internet advertising versus vertical ad tech integration — Trade Desk wins if CTV growth and antitrust pressure on Google restructure the programmatic ecosystem; Google wins if search and YouTube advertising maintain dominance across AI disruption and antitrust outcomes.
GOOGL holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. GOOGL has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+39.11% vs -74.31%), though TTD has the better forward P/E setup (14.62x vs 23.37x for GOOGL). GOOGL leads on both revenue growth (24.20%) and operating margin (34.03%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for GOOGL (+23.51%) than for TTD (-8.00%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- want the independent buy-side DSP exposed to CTV advertising growth and open internet programmatic
- believe Trade Desk's independence from media inventory is a structural advantage with brand advertisers
- value UID2 as a potential identity standard that benefits Trade Desk if Google's third-party cookies are deprecated
- think DOJ antitrust action against Google's ad tech stack is a significant catalyst for Trade Desk
- prefer diversified exposure to Search, YouTube, Cloud, and AI alongside dominant ad tech infrastructure
- value Google's integrated advertising advantage as a massive revenue generator across buy and sell side
- want YouTube CTV exposure as the largest video advertising platform alongside Google Search
- believe antitrust risk is manageable and Google's AI capabilities defend its advertising moat
| Metric | TTD | GOOGL |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 41.2 | 64.1 |
| AI ranki | #799 | #79 |
| Latest closei | $13.13 | $349.22 |
| 1M returni | -12.47% | +1.23% |
| 3M returni | -31.33% | -1.48% |
| 6M returni | -42.31% | +3.93% |
| 1Y returni | -74.31% | +39.11% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | TTD | GOOGL |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $2.63K (-73.7%) started 2025-10-16 | $13.89K (+38.9%) started 2025-10-16 |
| 5Y ago | $1.62K (-83.8%) started 2021-10-18 | $24.7K (+147.0%) started 2021-10-18 |
| 10Y ago | $49.98K (+399.8%) started 2016-10-17 | $87.4K (+774.0%) started 2016-10-17 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | TTD | GOOGL |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $6.84B | $4.24T |
| Trailing P/Ei | 17.32 | 17.39 |
| Forward P/Ei | 14.62 | 23.37 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | 5.88 |
| EV/Revenuei | 1.81 | 9.27 |
| Analyst targeti | $13.39 | $428.07 |
| Target upsidei | -8.00% | +23.51% |
| Metric | TTD | GOOGL |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 3.00% | 24.20% |
| Earnings growthi | -23.60% | 294.00% |
| EPS growthi | -23.60% | +294.00% |
| FCF margini | +19.50% | +5.08% |
| Operating margini | 14.21% | 34.03% |
| Profit margini | 13.61% | 54.77% |
| ROIC proxyi | 15.44% | 48.68% |
| Return on equityi | 15.44% | 48.68% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | 0.25% |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 4.26% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | No increase yet |
| Betai | 1.04 | 1.24 |
| Debt/equityi | 16.86 | 18.86 |
| Current ratioi | 1.72 | 2.72 |
| Quick ratioi | 1.68 | 2.47 |
Over the past year, TTD and GOOGL have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.16), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | TTD | GOOGL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -73.69% | +38.88% |
| CAGRi | -73.75% | +38.96% | |
| Volatilityi | 56.50% | 31.35% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -2.16 | 1.06 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -2.79 | 1.68 | |
| Max drawdowni | 77.98% | 21.09% | |
| Current drawdowni | 75.74% | 13.26% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 52.32% | 7.82% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 56.12% | 9.84% | |
| Max daily dropi | 21.90% | 7.13% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 29.89% | 10.37% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -83.75% | +145.76% |
| CAGRi | -30.51% | +19.73% | |
| Volatilityi | 67.64% | 32.12% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.26 | 0.58 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.38 | 0.86 | |
| Max drawdowni | 91.46% | 44.32% | |
| Current drawdowni | 90.59% | 13.26% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 44.87% | 13.72% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 51.39% | 17.64% | |
| Max daily dropi | 38.61% | 9.51% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 42.53% | 13.41% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +399.81% | +769.79% |
| CAGRi | +17.47% | +24.16% | |
| Volatilityi | 67.87% | 29.61% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.51 | 0.73 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.78 | 1.06 | |
| Max drawdowni | 91.46% | 44.32% | |
| Current drawdowni | 90.59% | 13.26% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 29.18% | 9.82% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 38.43% | 13.80% | |
| Max daily dropi | 38.61% | 11.63% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 42.53% | 15.46% |
| Category | TTD | GOOGL |
|---|---|---|
| Company | The Trade Desk, Inc. | Alphabet Inc. |
| Sector | Communication Services | Communication Services |
| Industry | Advertising Agencies | Internet Content & Information |
| Core business | Independent demand-side platform (DSP) enabling ad buyers (agencies, brands) to purchase digital advertising across the open internet — connected TV, audio, display, and mobile — using data-driven targeting. The Trade Desk does not own any media inventory. | Google Search, YouTube, Google Display Network, Google Ad Manager (the dominant supply-side platform), and Google Ads (the largest DSP). Google controls both sides of the digital advertising ecosystem — the buy side and the sell side — creating a structural advantage. |
| Investor focus | Revenue growth driven by CTV advertising spend, retail media network adoption, UID2 identity solution adoption, and international expansion. | Search advertising revenue stability vs AI disruption, YouTube advertising growth, Google Cloud AI adoption, and antitrust DOJ ruling implications for ad tech stack. |
- The Trade Desk is the only scaled independent DSP — not owning media inventory means it has no conflict of interest in serving buyers
- CTV advertising is the fastest-growing digital ad segment — streaming TV share is taking from linear TV, and Trade Desk is the leading programmatic buyer
- UID2 open identity solution is an important industry alternative to Google's cookie deprecation — brands and publishers are adopting UID2 as a privacy-safe targeting standard
- Google owns the largest global search advertising platform — reaching consumers at the highest-intent moment in the purchase funnel
- Google's vertical integration of buy-side (Google Ads DV360) and sell-side (Ad Manager/AdX) creates efficiency advantages but also antitrust scrutiny
- YouTube advertising is the largest video advertising platform globally, with growing CTV and YouTube TV audiences
- Google's dominance of the programmatic supply chain (DFP, GAM, AdX) creates structural disadvantages for Trade Desk in accessing premium inventory efficiently
- CTV advertising spending shifts can be volatile — a macro slowdown reduces brand advertising budgets quickly
- Retail media networks (Amazon, Walmart, Target) are walled gardens that partially bypass Trade Desk's open internet positioning
- DOJ antitrust ruling found Google illegally monopolized the ad tech market — forced divestiture of Google Ad Manager could restructure the entire programmatic ecosystem
- AI search alternatives reduce Google's per-query advertising revenue over time
- Trade Desk and other independent ad tech companies benefit if Google is forced to separate buy-side and sell-side operations
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