The Trade Desk wasn’t the only independent adtech company to show up in Q1 2025.
On the SSP side, Magnite reported revenue of $155.8 million, up 4% year-over-year, driven by growth in CTV (obviously!). Meanwhile, PubMatic saw Q1 revenue actually dip 4% year-over-year to $63.8 million, citing disruptions from a major DSP buyer and lower political ad spending. Excluding those factors, however, the company says underlying growth was 21%.
Verification players DV and IAS also reported earnings, with both seeing roughly 17% year-over-year growth. DV posted Q1 revenue of $165.06 million, while IAS reported $134.1 million.
Why This Matters:
If we’re trying to ID patterns, it seems growth areas like CTV gained traction in Q1, while “fundamental” adtech—like verification—also held strong. That momentum helped stabilize the sector after a rocky Q4 for many independent adtech players.
But can it last? The broader economy has been volatile in recent months, and there’s been no shortage of warnings about a potential slowdown in ad spend. How that plays out in the next round of earnings remains to be seen.
Experts React:
Regardless of short-term uncertainty, digital video remains a top priority for buyers in 2025. According to a newly released IAB report, digital video will account for nearly 60% of total TV and video ad spend this year or $72 billion, with CTV expected to reach $26.6 billion.
Unsurprisingly, all the companies mentioned above emphasized their CTV and video businesses in Q1, and signaled continued focus on it in the next quarter and beyond.
With that in mind, Magnite CEO Michael Barrett emphasized the strength of the company’s CTV business during their earnings call, noting that programmatic CTV is growing at twice the pace of their display and banner business and accounts for more than 40% of their total contribution ex-TAC revenue. “So even in a macro slowdown,” he says, “we’ll, will outperform our peers who all lack meaningful revenue exposure to CTV.”
Our Take:
Independent adtech isn’t out of the woods, necessarily, but Q1 offered a glimpse of what stability–and growth (!)–could look like. Keep in mind, beyond the above, TTD did well, AppLovin, Viant, and Taboola, too.
The real question is whether that momentum can survive a potential pullback in spend. Fingers AND toes crossed, everyone.
