Latest news with #Criteo
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Criteo S.A. (CRTO) Falls to 52-Week Low Amid Ad Tech Sector Uncertainty
Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ:CRTO) is one of the 10 best marketing stocks to buy right now. On June 13, 2025, Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ:CRTO) fell to its 52-week low of $24.87 amid ongoing uncertainty in the ad tech sector. This change, which is attributed to intense competition in the digital advertising sector and challenges like privacy regulations, reflects a drop of 35.27% in the past year. Amid these macroeconomic challenges and client transition concerns, Wall Street analysts have downgraded the company's stock. Meanwhile, Criteo is demonstrating its commitment to fighting these challenges. On June 13, 2025, the company announced a partnership with Dentsu, a leading marketing and advertising company operating globally. The partnership holds positive financial returns for the company as Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ:CRTO) will now be equipped with AI-enhanced audiences, buying tools, consultancy services, and measurement capabilities. CRTO's Chief Revenue Officer made the following statement: 'We're thrilled to partner with dentsu and provide a holistic set of solutions that will propel commerce media momentum for its clients. An industry leading toolset, coupled with a comprehensive strategy, are crucial to maximize success in today's environment, and our partnership with dentsu is a testament to the value that holistic commerce-driven technology platforms provide.' This commitment toward making strategic collaborations, along with better-than-expected Q1 2025 financial performance, makes Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ:CRTO) one of the best advertising agency stocks to buy right now. Criteo S.A. (NASDAQ:CRTO) operates a leading digital marketing platform globally, helping customers maximize their return on advertising expenditure through its proprietary Shopper Graph data. While we acknowledge the potential of CRTO as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Best Marketing Stocks to Buy Right Now and 12 Best Gold Stocks to Invest In According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Time of India
09-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Retargeting needs a creative reboot
For every customer who visits a brand's website but leaves without making a purchase, retargeting ads have long been the go-to strategy for marketers aiming to convert them. However, once the go-to for converting warm leads, retargeting is slowly losing its edge. As it reaches a plateau, marketers must reconsider where their approach may be falling short. But before we dive into the cracks in the system, let's take a moment to understand what retargeting involves. Unlike typical banner ads, retargeting ads are a form of online advertising served to people who have already visited a brand's website or are in contact with the brand. According to Criteo, only 4% of site visitors end up making a purchase. This leaves marketers with a pressing question: How do you convert the 96% who left without buying? Retargeting. However, as the saying goes, 'Retargeting works, until it doesn't.' While the concept seems foolproof on paper, real-world execution is fraught with challenges. Let's break them down one by one. Dynamic Landing Pages As an increasing number of Indians join social media to connect with their friends and family, Meta and Google have become the top advertising platforms for retargeting customers. They dominate retargeting by leveraging vast user data to serve ads based on browsing behaviour, past purchases and search history. Every time a customer clicks on a retargeting ad, they are directed to a landing page (web page designed to receive traffic from that specific ad. These platforms use static ads (fixed content pieces that remain the same regardless of context) that work well for categories like e-commerce and retail, but have limited applicability for more complex categories like insurance, where dynamic, personalised content is essential to engage users and drive conversions. Rohitesh Sahu, associate vice president - digital marketing , PolicyBazaar, pointed out this mismatch and said, 'Imagine visiting an e-commerce app to view a pair of shoes. That product page looks the same for everyone and no personal inputs are needed to see the price. In contrast to e-commerce, customer journeys in insurance are highly personalised. Quotations and policy details depend on individual data, such as age, health status, smoking habits and more.' Conventional retargeting ads offered by Meta and Google rely on audience pools, where customers are segmented based on predefined triggers like site visits or cart abandonment. These ads are usually templated and automated, directing customers to static landing pages (look the same for everyone). Serving a dynamic landing page on these platforms is not a straightforward task as insurance products often involve a longer and more complex decision-making process. Consumers typically go through several steps, reading about plans, comparing quotes and sometimes speaking with agents, before making a purchase. Because of this fragmented journey, showing a perfectly tailored landing page based on just one ad click becomes challenging, as it's hard to pinpoint exactly where the user is in the buying process. Moreover, platforms like Meta and Google have limited the use of PII (Personally Identifiable Information) due to privacy concerns. Dynamic landing pages often rely on personal customer data to tailor content. For insurance products, tailoring based on age, health conditions, or income could raise compliance flags or breach privacy norms. The challenges of serving dynamic landing pages make it significantly harder for categories like insurance to run effective retargeting ads. Diminishing Returns When a customer browses a shirt on an e-commerce site but doesn't purchase, they're often overwhelmed with static retargeting ads, nudging them to buy. These ads typically showcase the shirt, its price and discounts, but their static nature can feel repetitive and saturating. This lack of dynamism risks being ignored by customers. Dynamic ads offer a solution, but the challenge remains: are there truly 50 unique ways to advertise a single shirt? Likely not, and this is where marketers face a dilemma. Manan Bajoria, group VP - growth marketing, Ixigo, elaborated on the challenge and said, 'There's little room for creativity in retargeting ads. Even with videos or GIFs, the core message stays the same: the shirt and its price. This repetition is what makes retargeting ads feel monotonous.' When creatives remain largely unchanged, the customer experience becomes monotonous and intrusive. For instance, a user might search for a product, see related ads, return later to make a booking and then search again, only to be shown the same ads all over again. This repetitive cycle continues because the creative content doesn't evolve meaningfully over time, making the retargeting feel stale and overbearing. What remains to be seen is how technologies like agentic AI can enable brands to present a shirt in 50 unique ways during retargeting. Frequency Caps Have you ever felt annoyed scrolling through social media, seeing the same ad from a brand over and over again? Repeated exposure can lead to ad fatigue or worse, push your brand into the customer's blind spot, where they become indifferent to your messaging. To prevent overexposure, marketers use frequency caps to limit ad displays. These caps ensure brands don't overwhelm customers. Sounds simple to implement? It's not. As per Vishal Agrahari, VP - digital paid media, Bcwebwise brands typically allocate 5% to 10% of their campaign budgets to retargeting, yet often fail to achieve the desired results. A key reason, he explains, is that marketers tend to overexpose customers to retargeting ads. They repeatedly bombard users with the same creatives, failing to implement proper frequency caps—believing that more impressions equate to better recall, without realising this can lead to negative brand perception. Sharing an example of a failed retargeting campaign by a D2C brand, he said, 'A D2C apparel brand in the last quarter of 2024 had executed an aggressive retargeting campaign on Meta and Google. The campaign budget was INR 15–20 lakh per quarter allocated for retargeting, as the audience pool for remarketing was around 4 lakh users. Since they were offering discounts on products, they wanted to reach out to everyone who visited their website. But the retargeting campaign failed miserably. ROAS dropped from 3.6 to 1.4. Conversion rate went below 1%. Where they went wrong was, the audience saw the same creatives over 10 times without any frequency caps.' But why is implementing frequency caps so difficult? Here are two reasons: 'Different teams manage different channels: someone runs paid ads, another handles CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and WhatsApp, and a different team manages the call centre. It is challenging to tie one customer across these platforms and track all communications from each channel while implementing the frequency caps,' Sahu (PolicyBazaar) articulated. Highlighting the fragmented nature of digital marketing, Kedar Ravangave, EVP - marketing, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said, 'Digital marketing operates in a fragmented ecosystem, where consumers encounter ads across independent platforms like Instagram, YouTube, or news websites. This disintegration complicates tracking a user's cumulative ad exposure, as some of these platforms operate in isolation, making it difficult to manage frequency effectively. A user might encounter the same ad across Instagram, YouTube and Facebook, with no unified system tracking these repeated exposures.' Incrementality When evaluating retargeting, it is important to take into account the incremental cost—the additional expense required to achieve results that wouldn't have occurred otherwise. While retargeting may appear to be a fraction of the cost of new user acquisition, it can sometimes be up to 'ten times' more expensive when factoring in these hidden incremental costs. To demonstrate how retargeting often ends up being more expensive than new user acquisition, Bajoria conducted an experiment at Ixigo five years ago. Explaining the experiment, he said, 'When I joined the company, we were investing heavily in retargeting campaigns, spending significant budgets to re-engage users who dropped off in the funnel. To evaluate the impact of retargeting, we ran an incrementality test, dividing our audience into a target group and a control group. The test withheld ads from 20% of users while showing them to the remaining 80%, running the campaign for two weeks to compare conversion rates between the two groups. The control group, which didn't see the ads, had a 5% conversion rate, while the group exposed to ads converted at 5.5%. This meant that only 0.5% of conversions were incremental, with the remaining 5% occurring naturally, regardless of the ads. Despite Meta attributing the full 5.5% to our campaign, making the cost per booking appear favourable, the actual cost per booking was 10 times higher, revealing the inefficiency of our retargeting efforts.' To put this into perspective, imagine you run a travel website and show retargeting ads to 100 people who visited but didn't complete a booking. You spend INR 300 per booking, which seems like a bargain compared to the INR 1,000 it typically costs to acquire a new customer. However, if only 10 of those 100 bookings actually happened because of the ads and the remaining 90 either would have booked later as they were still planning their travel or didn't book at all—your real cost per incremental booking is actually INR 3,000. That's three times the cost of acquiring a new customer, not one-third as it initially appeared. Armed with these insights, Ixigo decided to halt all retargeting campaigns on Meta and Google. Now the question arises: if the actual cost of retargeting is so high, why do marketers continue to ignore the incremental cost of retargeting? 'Many marketers either aren't familiar with incrementality or know the term but don't fully understand how to measure it. They may not go the extra mile to decode its real value or simply lack the tools to do so. Often, performance metrics focus on user acquisition at low costs, making retargeting appear efficient. Without the intent or capability to dig deeper, most marketers do not want to take the bold call of just shutting down a channel,' Bajoria resolved. By allocating the money spent on retargeting to new user acquisition and targeting customers via email and WhatsApp, Ixigo's retargeting budgets have decreased by 90% compared to their previous levels, thanks to the shift to CRM channels such as email, SMS and push notifications. Vague Intent While retargeting is already a complex challenge for D2C brands, requiring a deep understanding of customer behaviour, it becomes even more challenging in the B2B space, primarily due to the lack of clear buyer intent signals. Describing this challenge, a source told ETBrandEquity, 'A major hurdle in B2B marketing is the absence of clear intent signals. Marketers often rely on vague indicators or market whispers that suggest a potential customer might need their solution, but where do you find these signals? They're rarely available in a real-time or easily accessible format. If you're trying to sell to a B2B customer, how would you even know which product they are actively exploring? Without behavioural or contextual signals, retargeting becomes a shot in the dark.' Closing The Loop Another challenge that adds to the fatigue of customers is when these static ads pop up even after the product has already been purchased. But why do customers keep receiving these ads after purchasing? Explaining, Sahu said, 'When campaigns are created, they typically involve both a targeting list and an exclusion list. For instance, if a user visits your website, brands may choose to target them with ads for the next seven days. However, it's critical that after those seven days, the user is automatically removed from the targeting list. Marketers sometimes fail to establish clear rules for exclusion lists and overlook the importance of excluding users who have already reached a key milestone in the customer journey. Without a defined and automated exclusion process, these users continue to receive ads, leading to wasted ad spend or worse, pushing the brand into the consumer's blind spot.' To manage this, PolicyBazaar structures campaigns around the customer's buying cycle. For example, in the case of car insurance, the brand knows that most purchases occur about a week before the due date. Therefore, it aligns its campaigns accordingly and avoids targeting beyond this window. A Tech Challenge Marketing professionals highlight a key gap in the current retargeting infrastructure: 'If I need to track specific customers, analyse historical data and estimate the potential dollar value from retargeting them, there's no solution that consolidates all campaigns, target bases and expected outcomes for me in one place,' says one of them, who prefers to stay anonymous. He stressed the need for a smarter, goal-oriented system. 'When I input a desired conversion rate or KPI, the system should interpret that goal and recommend the exact set of actions required to achieve it. Today, this entire process is manual,' the anonymous source added. He also pointed out the limitations in operational efficiency in retail, where a team member typically reviews past data and plans actions for the following week. If that person is on leave, the entire process can fall apart. Asking for a more intelligent, automated solution, he said, 'We need a customised tool that predicts potential revenue from retargeting specific cohorts—and suggests the right campaigns to execute.' Ad Fraud Retargeting is already a capital-intensive marketing exercise—now imagine the frustration of being taken advantage of in the process. Retargeting frauds exploit advertisers' efforts to reach users who've previously visited their website. Bots are programmed to mimic human behaviour, such as browsing product pages or adding items to a shopping cart. The advertiser's retargeting mechanisms then prompt the ad server to serve more ads to these fake 'leads,' ultimately draining budgets and wasting valuable impressions. Recalling an experience of retargeting fraud, Ravangave shared: 'This was a case from my past marketing experience during a large-scale retargeting campaign we were running with a major publisher. The goal was to deliver a high volume of clicks through specific messaging. As soon as the campaign went live, the publisher started reporting a significant number of clicks. But none of this traffic was reflected on our site. Had the team not set up hourly monitoring, we would have ended up wasting the entire campaign budget in just a week because it was a short-duration sale campaign. We quickly flagged the issue and reached out to the publisher. That's when we discovered the numbers were being manipulated by bots. What was reported as a million clicks was, in reality, just around a thousand.' Ravangave emphasises that ad fraud will continue to evolve, but the most effective countermeasure is building a solid, in-house measurement framework. After reviewing the challenges, let us now explore the solutions. Sequential Storytelling Retargeting efforts plateau beyond a point due to ad fatigue, audience saturation (a customer may fall in the retargeting pool of multiple brands in the same category) and privacy limitations. To overcome this challenge, Pragya Bijalwann, head of marketing, Voltas, suggests marketers explore strategies such as sequential storytelling and creative experimentation. These approaches help sustain engagement, expand reach to new audiences and drive conversions without relying solely on personalisation. Sequential storytelling is the practice of developing modular creatives that evolve with the consumer's journey, where each ad feels like a natural continuation rather than a repetitive nudge, creating an experience that resonates with consumers. Kotak Mahindra Bank utilises its in-house photo studio to create diverse, tailored campaign messages for every stage of the customer journey. Explaining this practice, Ravangave said, 'Our product stories have evolved from broad thematic narratives to focused messaging that highlights how a product solves problems or enhances a consumer's life. From there, we integrate bottom-funnel elements like creator endorsements, targeted offers and location-based nudges. We use signal-based sequencing (using browsing behaviour, purchase history and engagement patterns) to deliver relevant messaging tailored to each stage of the customer journey. This approach increased conversion by three to six times for customers exposed to a full-funnel strategy compared to traditional retargeting methods.' Sharing an alternate strategy to prevent retargeting from reaching a plateau, Amit Chaudhary, digital marketing head, Orient Electric, said, 'We continuously refresh our audience pools and watch for buying signals across categories. For instance, a bulk lighting buyer often signals home renovation—we can then remarket fans or geysers to such users. And this would work even better if we could tell the user our brand story. The conversion likelihood in retargeting is higher when brand trust has already been built through an intense narrative exposure. We have seen that when users are exposed to a strong brand narrative, our overall performance marketing, including retargeting, performs significantly better, as it's no longer just a push, it's part of a bigger story.' A MadTech Approach If marketing teams could openly complain about one aspect of retargeting, it would be the diminishing reach of various channels. Bajoria also noted a significant decline in the reach of CRM channels. For example, push notifications now reach only about 50% of users, as more customers choose to opt out of receiving them. 'SMS has been overused to the point where people rarely read them unless it is an OTP or a bank alert,' Bajoria added. 'WhatsApp remains a viable option, but it comes at a cost—approximately 80 paise per message. Moreover, WhatsApp imposes limits on the number of marketing messages a user can receive each week. Once this threshold is met, additional messages are simply not delivered,' Bajoria added further. The saturation of traditional CRM channels has led many marketers to see Meta and Google as more appealing options for retargeting. However, the high cost of retargeting on these platforms has created a dilemma: should marketers continue investing in Meta and Google at a premium, or shift focus to the more cost-effective CRM channels for their retargeting efforts? Bajoria believes that CRM channels such as emails, push notifications and SMS remain a better bet for retargeting due to their lower cost, and the dollars saved on retargeting on Meta and Google can be put to new customer acquisition. As a result, marketers are increasingly exploring new ways to retarget customers. One emerging approach involves retargeting the followers of micro and nano-influencers after running influencer campaigns with them—an audience known for significantly higher engagement rates. 'This strategy has proven highly effective because micro and nano-influencers have a strong presence within their communities and tend to drive much higher engagement. You're far more likely to trust a mother from your neighborhood promoting homemade pickles than a celebrity,' an anonymous source revealed. Dynamic Creative Optimisation The challenge of little to no variations in retargeting creatives causes fatigue, so what can brands do? PolicyBazaar is currently in the process of leveraging agentic AI and generative AI for personalised marketing communication, especially in banner and video formats. They are iterating and testing it on a small scale. 'While we believe it will not necessarily lead to dramatically different outcomes in terms of performance uplift, it should provide incremental benefits. Such as improving creative variety, reducing manual workload and enhancing operational efficiencies,' Sahu noted. The question of whether to retarget or not lacks a straightforward answer. It depends on factors like the brand's category, the length of the consideration period, and whether static ads effectively serve your audience or risk annoying them. Before launching campaigns, marketers must prioritise KYC—Know Your Customer—to build detailed customer profiles for strategic retargeting. Nevertheless, retargeting strategies must be re-evaluated with customer fatigue in mind to ensure better ROI (Return on Investment).
Globe and Mail
01-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
2 Top Bargain Stocks Ready for a Bull Run
The tech sector has been a market-beating beast in recent years. Tech-heavy exchange-traded funds (ETFs) like the Vanguard Information Technology ETF (NYSEMKT: VGT) and the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) have delivered annual returns of more than 21% over the last three years. Broad market trackers like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) only gained 15.5% per year over the same period. Yes, that's a fantastic return from a historic perspective, but the tech sector offered even stronger gains. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More » The technology boom has been driven by artificial intelligence (AI) news, starting with the public release of ChatGPT in November 2022. Many leaders in the AI market have soared sky-high, adding fuel to the tech sector's market performance fires, but also making those market darlings a bit expensive. Fortunately, the market-moving forces left a few top-notch companies behind. I still see several tech stocks with a combination of bright business prospects and modest stock prices. Let's check out a couple of underappreciated bargain-bin tech stocks. This dynamic duo looks ready for a fresh bull run. 1. Criteo Digital advertising has been a troubled sector since the first signs of an inflation crisis in 2021. Paris-based commerce media specialist Criteo (NASDAQ: CRTO) provides purchase-inspiring ad services to global brands. This focus placed the Parisian company in the epicenter of the inflation-based slowdown -- why invest in lavish marketing campaigns when consumers are pinching pennies and tightening belts? Criteo's revenues have indeed slumped since then, and so has the stock price. You know what's surging in recent quarters, though? That would be Criteo's free cash flows: CRTO Free Cash Flow data by YCharts The cash profits took a temporary dip, but came back stronger, with trailing cash flows reaching an all-time high in May's Q1 2025 report. But Criteo's stock price is down more than 30% in the last quarter, and the shares are trading at the bargain-bin valuation of 11.3 times earnings and 6.6 times free cash flow. I'm not saying the digital ad market is roaring back to life in the spring of 2025. The political climate may result in another inflation spike, and advertisers are already reducing their ad-spot spending right now. Hence, Criteo's undervalued stock may see more volatility and weakness in the coming months. However, I think the market makers have underestimated Criteo's ability to turn cash profits in a soft market. The Criteo shares you buy at a discount in this downswing should return to more reasonable valuation ratios someday. At the same time, the company's robust cash generation makes it less vulnerable to short-term financial challenges. You can buy Criteo stock with confidence while it's cheap. This one is poised for great long-term returns, and patience is the greatest Wall Street virtue of them all. 2. Hewlett Packard Enterprise My next recommendation is more of a household name. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) has been around (in some form) since 1939. As the data center and cloud computing operator of the old HP business, HP Enterprise (aka HPE) plays a serious part in the AI boom. Indeed, seven out of the 10 most powerful supercomputers today were built by HP Enterprise. Only Chinese rival Lenovo has more systems in the top 500 than HP Enterprise, and nobody can match the total number-crunching performance of this company's ultra-powerful systems. Any company or organization that needs a top-performance system for their AI training and operations is likely to check out HP Enterprise's catalog first. So I'm talking about an AI powerhouse here. Yet, the stock price has dropped 16% lower year to date while smaller system builders Super Micro Computers (NASDAQ: SMCI) and Dell (NYSE: DELL) are up by 41% and down by just 1%, respectively. Trading at 8.9 times earnings and 14.3 times free cash flow, HP Enterprise looks downright cheap next to these challengers. HP Enterprise's stock could double or triple in price and still be affordable next to Supermicro or Dell. This could be a great value play on the hardware side of the AI boom. Should you invest $1,000 in Criteo right now? Before you buy stock in Criteo, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Criteo wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $653,389!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $830,492!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is982% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to171%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Trade Desk vs. Criteo: Which Ad Tech Stock is the Better Buy Now?
The Trade Desk, Inc. TTD and Criteo S.A. CRTO are players in the digital advertising technology space. TTD operates a leading demand-side platform (DSP), which aids advertisers in focusing on data-driven advertising, while Criteo is a global commerce media company that operates as both a DSP and supply-side platform. The digital advertising market is poised for strong growth, fueled by rising mobile penetration, the proliferation of social media platforms, and the continued expansion of programmatic advertising. The global digital advertising market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.4% from 2025 to 2030, per a report from Grand View Research. The report also highlights that video will remain the dominant format, as brands increasingly recognize the power of visual storytelling. This positive trend in ad spending bodes well for both The Trade Desk and Criteo. But for investors looking to make a smart move in the digital advertising space, which of these two stocks offers the stronger investment case? Let's take a closer look at each company's strengths and weaknesses to determine which stands out as the better buy. The Trade Desk is gaining from improving demand trends as reflected by strong revenue growth in the first quarter of 2025. TTD reported revenues of $616 million, up 25% year over year and surpassing management's revenue guidance of at least $575 million. Adjusted EBITDA stood at $208 million (34% margin) compared with $162 million (33% margin) in the year-ago quarter. Video, which includes connected TV or CTV, represented a high 40 percent share of digital spend, while mobile had a mid-30 percent share. Customer retention stood at over 95% for the quarter reported. TTD reported net cash provided by operating activities of $291.4 million, and free cash flow was $230 million. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 33 cents, up 27% from the year-ago quarter. The company also noted that its Kokai platform was now being used by two-thirds of the clients, much ahead of schedule. The platform is now delivering on lower funnel KPIs, including 24% lower cost per conversion and 20% lower cost per acquisition, added TTD. Nonetheless, increasing macroeconomic uncertainty and escalating trade tensions do not augur well for TTD, as these could squeeze ad budgets. TTD highlighted the impact of the volatile macro backdrop, particularly on the large global brands. If macro headwinds worsen or persist into the second half of 2025, revenue growth may face further pressure due to reduced programmatic demand. The intensely competitive nature of the digital advertising industry, dominated by industry giants like Alphabet and Amazon, continues to put pressure on TTD's market positioning. Growing regulatory scrutiny around data privacy and evolving consumer data practices also threaten to disrupt the established audience-targeting methods. While CTV remains a strong revenue driver, the market is increasingly fragmented and competitive. Heavy reliance on CTV for growth is a concern, as any adverse impact on this segment could weigh heavily on the overall performance. Moreover, TTD derived 88% of its revenues from North America, while only 12% came from international markets. A weak international footprint limits TTD's total addressable market expansion potential. Increasing costs are likely to weigh on profitability. In the last reported quarter, total operating costs surged 21.4% year over year to $561.6 million. Expenses soared on account of continued investments in boosting platform capabilities, particularly platform operations. Higher costs can prove a drag on margins, especially if the revenue growth does not keep pace. Criteo's AI-driven Performance Media business and leading capabilities in the Retail Media segment bode well. Criteo's Commerce Media Platform includes demand-side (Commerce Growth and Commerce Max), supply-side (Commerce Grid and Commerce Yield), and data-driven identity solutions, making it a full-stack, vertically integrated platform. This helps the company capture value across the ad tech value chain and reduce overdependence on legacy retargeting. It has been transitioning from its legacy retargeting business toward high-growth areas, such as Retail Media and Commerce Audiences. Criteo's media spend was $4.3 billion in the last 12 months and $919 million in the first quarter. In the first quarter of 2025, Retail Media on-platform revenues grew 17% year over year, driven by strength in Retail Media onsite. It now has a partnership with 70% of the top 30 U.S. retailers, up from 65% last quarter. Three hundred new brands were onboarded in the first quarter, taking the total global brands count to over 3,800 for Retail Media. CRTO also launched onsite video solution which offers a full-funnel onsite advertising suite, into general availability. Launches with Office Depot and Costco Canada show that offsite Retail Media is scaling. Strong focus on strengthening relationships with global agencies and APIs is likely to drive more demand for its solutions. Within Performance Media, the company has rolled out 70 Commerce GO!, a new AI-powered automation and optimization toolset. This particular toolset is designed to launch high-performing campaigns in five clicks, driving faster advertiser onboarding. The highly competitive digital advertising landscape remains a key concern, with giants like Amazon and Google dominating multiple channels. However, Criteo sets itself apart by offering direct retailer access and a transparent, demand-driven platform built around first-party data. Backed by its extensive retail media network, proprietary Shopper Graph, and AI-powered performance engine, Criteo delivers measurable returns for brands and retailers, a value proposition it aims to strengthen further through ongoing platform innovation and strategic investment. Year to date, CRTO has lost 33.6% while TTD's decline stands at 37.1% amid macroeconomic uncertainties and effects of tariffs and inflation surrounding the industry. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Valuation-wise, TTD is overvalued, as suggested by the Value Score of F, while CRTO has a Value Score of A, respectively. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research In terms of the forward 12-month price/earnings ratio, TTD shares are trading at 38.32X, higher than CRTO's 5.97X. Analysts have significantly revised their earnings estimates downward for CRTO's bottom line for the current quarter. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research While for TTD, there is a relatively lower downward revision. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Currently, CRTO carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), making the stock a stronger pick compared with TTD, which has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Criteo stands out as the smarter pick due to its stronger valuation, focus on deepening partnerships, and expanding retail media footprint. If investors are seeking a tech stock with long-term growth potential, CRTO is a better pick. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Criteo S.A. (CRTO) : Free Stock Analysis Report The Trade Desk (TTD) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Criteo Stock Plunges 29% YTD: Should You Buy the Dip or Wait?
Criteo CRTO shares have lost 29.2% in the year-to-date period, underperforming the Zacks Computer and Technology sector's decline of 1.4% and the S&P 500 index's return of 0.7%. The stock has also underperformed the Zacks Internet - Software and Services industry's growth of 17.2% in the same time stock's underperformance can be attributed to the effect of tariffs and inflation surrounding the industry. Criteo, although showing a dip at the moment, is poised for long-term growth even amid the macroeconomic uncertainties. The company is taking strategic steps to drive its prospects. Let's take a closer look at how CRTO is laying the foundation for sustained growth. Criteo has been transitioning from its legacy retargeting business toward high-growth areas, such as Retail Media and Commerce Audiences. In the first quarter of 2025, Retail Media on-platform revenues grew 21% year over year, driven by increased advertiser and retailer demand. Off-platform monetization also grew, supported by a 60% increase in supply partners. This can be attributed to the company's work with retailers like Michaels, Dollar Tree and Meijer, and its expansion of on-site monetization and self-service Audiences is another area of focus, with more than 250 brands onboarded to its expanded platform to date. With more first-party data integrations and growing demand for performance-based upper-funnel targeting, this business is positioned to scale throughout 2025. Criteo S.A. price-consensus-chart | Criteo S.A. Quote Criteo operates in a crowded space, competing with tech giants like Amazon AMZN, Google GOOGL, and The Trade Desk TTD. Amazon uses its shopper data to sell ads directly on its platform, while The Trade Desk helps brands buy ads across the open Internet with data-driven tools. Google rivals Criteo with ads across Search, YouTube and websites, using its vast user data. Shares of Amazon, Google and The Trade Desk have lost 6%, 12.1% and 35.1%, respectively, in the year-to-date period. While these players dominate in various channels, Criteo differentiates itself by providing retailer-direct access and a transparent, demand-driven platform that aligns with first-party data needs. With its broad retail network, proprietary Shopper Graph, and AI-based performance engine, Criteo offers measurable returns to brands and retailers, an advantage it plans to expand upon through continued platform investment and innovation. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRTO's 2025 earnings is currently pegged at $3.46 per share, which has been revised upward by 8.46% over the past 30 days. The estimate suggests a year-over-year increase of 16.98%. The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $1.15 billion, indicating year-over-year growth of 2.41%.CRTO beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with the average surprise being 45.42%. Criteo is now focusing on high-growth areas like Retail Media and Commerce Audiences. In the first quarter of 2025, the company expanded its advertiser base by 11% year over year and drove strong platform adoption across key retailers like Michaels and Meijer. New features such as dynamic sponsored products and video ads have strengthened its product suite, while recent wins in categories like grocery and home improvement reflect growing market traction. With more than 250 brands using Commerce Audiences and self-service adoption rising, Criteo is building momentum. Backed by a clear product roadmap, the company is positioning itself for long-term currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and has a Growth Score of A, a favorable combination that offers a strong investment opportunity, per the Zacks proprietary methodology. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Criteo S.A. (CRTO) : Free Stock Analysis Report The Trade Desk (TTD) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
