The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green purchased approximately $148 million worth of his company’s stock between March 2 and March 4, according to a Form 4 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The purchases, totaling 6 million Class A shares at prices ranging from $23 to $25 per share, represent a significant investment by the adtech company’s co-founder and CEO.
Green framed the purchases as a demonstration of confidence in The Trade Desk’s strategic direction and the long-term potential of digital advertising. In a blog post published Monday, he cited the company’s investments in artificial intelligence and the expansion of programmatic inventory to include emerging channels like chatbots and sponsored shopping listings. He believes these developments will significantly expand the total addressable market for programmatic advertising.
“I’m putting my money where my mouth is,” Green wrote in the post. He predicted a fundamental shift in how the advertising industry views inventory, positioning The Trade Desk to capitalize on the growth of programmatically available, search-like inventory within chatbot platforms and commerce environments.
The substantial stock purchase arrives at a juncture of change for the digital advertising sector. The rise of AI-powered answer engines, such as ChatGPT, is diverting user attention away from the traditional open web and potentially reducing the inventory available to demand-side platforms like The Trade Desk. The company also faces challenges from both competitors and partners. Recent departures from The Trade Desk’s OpenPath program by major advertising agencies Dentsu and WPP, as previously reported by Adweek, highlight these shifting dynamics.
Amazon has been increasingly directing ad spend towards its own demand-side platform, potentially impacting The Trade Desk’s market share. Green directly criticized Amazon’s DSP in his blog post, calling it “overrated.” Amazon reported $21.3 billion in ad revenue for 2025, a 22% year-over-year increase, demonstrating its growing influence in the digital advertising landscape.
The Trade Desk reported $847 million in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025, a 14% increase compared to the same period in 2024. This represents a deceleration in growth compared to the 22% growth experienced in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Jeff Green co-founded The Trade Desk in 2009, following a two-year stint at Microsoft after the acquisition of his previous venture, AdECN, a demand-side advertising platform. He currently serves as chairman and CEO of The Trade Desk, which went public in 2016. According to a Forbes profile, Green is an American billionaire businessman.
When asked for further comment, The Trade Desk directed inquiries to Green’s blog post.
