Executive Summary / Key Takeaways

• AI-Powered Transformation: Viant Technology is at the forefront of the programmatic advertising industry's AI revolution, with its ViantAI suite (AI Bidding, Planning, Measurement & Analysis, and upcoming Decisioning) driving significant efficiency gains and expanding its addressable market.
• CTV and Addressability Leadership: The company is a preeminent DSP for Connected TV (CTV) advertising, leveraging its patented Household ID (95% U.S. household reach) and IRIS_ID for video-level contextual targeting, which together deliver superior campaign performance and incremental lift.
• Strong Financial Momentum & Strategic Expansion: Despite temporary Q3 2025 headwinds from political ad comps and an agency client loss, Viant delivered robust Q2 2025 results, with double-digit growth in revenue, contribution ex-TAC, and adjusted EBITDA, supported by a $250 million pipeline of new business opportunities with major U.S. advertisers for 2026.
• Competitive Differentiation: As a "buy-side only" and transparent DSP, Viant offers advertisers material cost savings (up to 46% in media costs via AI Bidding) and a "no switching costs" proposition with ViantAI, directly challenging the conflicted models and complexities of walled gardens and traditional DSPs.
• Long-Term Growth Catalysts: Viant is strategically positioned to capitalize on the secular shift to CTV, the industry's move towards incremental lift measurement, and the democratization of programmatic advertising for millions of data-driven advertisers currently confined to search and social platforms.

The Dawn of Autonomous Advertising: Viant's Strategic Ascent

Viant Technology Inc. operates a cloud-based demand-side platform (DSP) that centralizes the planning, buying, and measurement of digital advertising across a comprehensive array of channels, including Connected TV (CTV), streaming audio, digital out-of-home, mobile, and desktop. Founded in 1999 as Viant Technology LLC, the company established its public holding structure in October 2020. Its journey has been marked by strategic evolution, from early acquisitions like Myspace LLC in 2011, which brought both assets and notable liabilities such as a Federal Trade Commission privacy consent order extending to 2032, to a focused pivot towards innovation in programmatic advertising.

The company's overarching strategy is firmly anchored in three core pillars: CTV proliferation, leadership in addressability, and AI innovation. These pillars are not merely buzzwords but represent a coherent vision for transforming programmatic advertising into a more efficient, transparent, and accessible ecosystem. This strategy positions Viant as a specialized, independent, and "buy-side only" player, a critical differentiator in an industry increasingly dominated by large, often conflicted, platforms.

The competitive landscape is fierce, with Viant contending against industry giants like Google (GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN), as well as established programmatic players such as The Trade Desk (TTD), PubMatic (PUBM), and Magnite (MGNI). While competitors like The Trade Desk offer significant scale and broad ecosystem integration, Viant distinguishes itself through its unwavering commitment to advertiser-centric solutions, emphasizing transparency, cost efficiency, and advanced privacy-compliant targeting. This focus is designed to attract advertisers seeking an objective partner, free from the inherent conflicts of interest present in platforms that also own ad inventory.

Technological Edge: ViantAI and the Addressability Revolution

Viant's core differentiated technology lies in its sophisticated AI-powered platform and its proprietary addressability solutions, which together form a compelling competitive moat. The company's vision is to deliver "autonomous advertising," a future where AI handles every stage of programmatic ad buying, from planning to optimization.

The ViantAI product suite is central to this vision. AI Bidding, launched in Q2 2023, has rapidly become a cornerstone, automating approximately 85% of ad spending on the platform by Q2 2025. This technology is not just about automation; it delivers tangible, quantifiable benefits, with the latest AI Bidding model achieving up to 46% reductions in media costs for advertisers. This directly translates into improved return on ad spend (ROAS) and greater efficiency, a critical "so what" for investors as it drives increased ad spend on Viant's platform, with contribution ex-TAC from AI Bidding doubling year-over-year in Q2 2025.

AI Planning, introduced in Q3 2024, enables advertisers to create enterprise-level campaigns in mere seconds. This drastically improves workflow and operational efficiency for agencies, with early adopters reporting they can double the velocity of new business pitches. The stated goal for AI Planning is to achieve a similar adoption rate to AI Bidding over its initial two years. The recently launched AI Measurement and Analysis (late Q2 2025) revolutionizes reporting by providing on-demand insights via a user-friendly chat interface, streamlining productivity and empowering continuous campaign optimization. The culmination of this suite, AI Decisioning, is expected in the second half of 2025, granting ViantAI full autonomy to dynamically adjust and optimize campaigns in real-time. This comprehensive AI offering is designed to unlock a massive new addressable market, including millions of small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), performance advertisers, and direct-to-consumer (D2C) e-commerce companies, by offering a level of simplicity and transparency that rivals Meta's (META) Advantage+ and Google's PMax for the open internet.

Complementing ViantAI are the company's Addressability Solutions. The patented Household ID (HHID) is a leading audience targeting and measurement solution, identifying approximately 95% of U.S. households and boasting availability across about 80% of biddable ad inventory. This significantly exceeds alternative identifiers, enabling sophisticated, privacy-compliant audience targeting at unmatched scale. Ad spend linked to Household ID increased 15% year-over-year in Q2 2025, and has surged 500% on a trailing 12-month basis over the last two years, demonstrating its critical role in driving incremental lift measurement. The acquisition of IRIS.TV in November 2024 brought the IRIS_ID, a global content identifier for CTV, enabling precise, video-level contextual targeting. Campaigns utilizing IRIS_ID have shown a 5x lift in brand favorability, a 3x lift in ad recall, and a 2x lift in brand awareness and consideration against CTV control groups. The presence of IRIS_ID across available CTV bid requests more than doubled since its acquisition, with integrations expanding to major publishers like Paramount (PARA) and Wurl.

Further strengthening this ecosystem, the February 2025 acquisition of Lockr, a data collaboration platform, simplifies first-party data activation for publishers. By integrating once with Lockr, publishers can seamlessly connect to various alternative ID partners, reducing engineering burden and accelerating the adoption of both Household ID and IRIS_ID across the programmatic ecosystem. This "industry utility" approach is crucial for bolstering the open internet's competitive stance against walled gardens.

Viant's Direct Access program for CTV also provides a unique advantage, connecting advertisers directly to premium CTV inventory from partners like Disney (DIS), Paramount, and LG, significantly reducing supply-side fees. This means more ad spend goes directly toward working media, increasing impression win rates and improving ROAS for customers. For the full year 2024, Direct Access CTV ad spend increased nearly 70% and accounted for over 50% of total CTV ad spend on the platform. The company does not charge a fee for Direct Access, further enhancing its value proposition.

Financial Performance and Strategic Momentum

Viant's strategic investments in AI, CTV, and addressability are translating into robust financial performance and operational efficiency. For the second quarter of 2025, the company reported revenue of $77.9 million, an 18% increase year-over-year, and contribution ex-TAC of $48.4 million, up 16% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter reached $11.3 million, an 18% increase year-over-year, surpassing the midpoint of guidance. These results contributed to a strong first half of 2025, with revenue of $148.5 million (+25% YoY) and contribution ex-TAC of $91.1 million (+20% YoY).

Looking back at 2024, Viant demonstrated significant momentum, with full-year revenue increasing 30% to $289.2 million and contribution ex-TAC growing 24% to $177.4 million. Adjusted EBITDA for 2024 rose 53% to $44.4 million, with the adjusted EBITDA margin expanding approximately 500 basis points to 25%. This growth was achieved while increasing contribution ex-TAC per employee by 10% year-over-year in Q2 2025, reflecting strong operational leverage. The company's ability to attract and retain high-value customers is evident, with a 23% increase in percent-of-spend customers generating over $1 million in contribution ex-TAC on a trailing 12-month basis through Q2 2025. New customer momentum is also strong, with a pipeline of new business opportunities exceeding $250 million of incremental ad spend from major U.S. advertisers for 2026.

Viant maintains a strong balance sheet, reporting $172.8 million in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2025, with no debt and full access to a $75 million undrawn credit facility.

The company has also been actively returning capital to shareholders through its share repurchase program, having bought back 3.8 million shares for $50.2 million at an average price of $13.15 since May 2024, with $49.8 million remaining under the authorization as of August 8, 2025. This demonstrates management's confidence in the company's long-term value.

Competitive Dynamics and Market Opportunity

Viant's competitive positioning is defined by its independence and technological differentiation against both traditional DSPs and the powerful "walled gardens" of Google, Amazon, and Meta. As a "buy-side only" platform, Viant avoids the inherent conflicts of interest where competitors might prioritize their own ad inventory. This objectivity, coupled with ViantAI's transparency, stands in stark contrast to the "black box" nature of many big tech offerings.

The company's "no switching costs" proposition for ViantAI directly addresses a key barrier for advertisers considering moving away from incumbent DSPs. This ease of adoption, combined with the significant cost savings offered by AI Bidding, makes Viant a compelling alternative. While larger competitors like The Trade Desk boast greater scale and market share, Viant's focused approach on the U.S. mid-market and its efficient operational structure allow it to achieve profitability at substantially lower ad spend volumes, avoiding the inflated take rates often associated with supporting extensive, unprofitable international operations. The Trade Desk's TTM Gross Profit Margin of 81% and Operating Profit Margin of 17% reflect its scale, but Viant's TTM Gross Profit Margin of 45.30% and Operating Profit Margin of 1.60% demonstrate its ability to generate profit while offering competitive pricing and passing savings to clients.

The recent district court ruling affirming Google's monopoly in ad tech presents a potential opportunity for Viant. Remedies, such as the divestiture of DoubleClick assets and Google AdX, could level the playing field, potentially providing Viant's clients with access to YouTube ad inventory and attracting advertisers looking to consolidate on an independent platform. Viant also actively challenges the "attribution misrepresentation" prevalent in big tech, where search and social platforms often take undue credit for outcomes. By prioritizing incremental lift measurement, Viant highlights CTV's superior impact in driving new customer acquisition, a key factor in diverting ad spend from less effective channels.

Amazon, while a significant player in retail media, poses less of a direct threat in the open web DSP space due to its inherent conflict of interest and limited data utility outside of retail. Publishers are often reluctant to share addressable signals with Amazon, fearing it could strengthen Amazon's identity graph at the expense of the open internet. Viant, conversely, fosters willing data sharing from both advertisers and publishers, powering its robust addressability solutions.

Outlook and Risks

Viant's outlook for Q3 2025 reflects a blend of underlying strength and temporary headwinds. The company projects revenue in the range of $83.5 million to $86.5 million (midpoint up 6% YoY) and contribution ex-TAC of $51 million to $53 million (midpoint up 10% YoY). Adjusted EBITDA is guided to be between $14 million and $15 million (midpoint down 1% YoY). These figures incorporate approximately 1,000 basis points of pressure on contribution ex-TAC growth (and 1,200 basis points on revenue growth) from two nonrecurring factors: a high political ad spend comparison from Q3 2024 and the loss of a sizable advertiser due to an agency change, with the latter's impact largely concentrated in Q3 due to its seasonal spending patterns.

Despite these near-term challenges, management remains confident in the company's long-term trajectory, anticipating "accelerating revenue and contribution ex-TAC year-over-year growth rates throughout 2026," driven by the substantial pipeline of new business with major U.S. advertisers. For the full year 2025, Viant expects contribution ex-TAC to continue outpacing the broader U.S. programmatic market (projected 13-14% growth) and to grow faster than non-GAAP operating expenses, leading to continued adjusted EBITDA margin expansion. Acquisitions like IRIS.TV and Lockr are expected to contribute approximately 600 basis points to non-GAAP operating expense growth in 2025, reflecting strategic investments in long-term capabilities.

However, investors should consider several risks. Macroeconomic conditions, including inflation, high interest rates, and tariffs, could continue to impact advertiser budgets. The evolving landscape of data privacy regulations (e.g., California's Delete Act, increased FTC scrutiny) and changes by major technology companies regarding cookie deprecation or mobile identifiers could affect data access and platform operations. The company also faces potential liabilities from its legacy Myspace.com operations, including an FTC consent order until 2032 and cybersecurity risks. Furthermore, the rapid development and deployment of AI technologies carry inherent risks related to model design, data quality, and potential misuse, which could impact performance or lead to liability. The ability to enforce intellectual property rights and manage payment-related risks (where Viant pays suppliers before collecting from customers) are ongoing operational considerations.

Conclusion

Viant Technology stands at a pivotal juncture, leveraging its independent, buy-side-only DSP model and a rapidly evolving suite of AI and addressability solutions to redefine programmatic advertising. The company's strategic focus on CTV, its patented Household ID, the contextual power of IRIS_ID, and the transformative potential of ViantAI are not just technological advancements; they are foundational elements of a compelling investment thesis. These innovations are driving significant efficiency gains for advertisers, attracting new business from major U.S. brands, and positioning Viant to tap into the vast, underserved market of data-driven SMBs and D2C companies.

While near-term headwinds may introduce some variability, Viant's robust financial health, disciplined capital allocation, and clear strategic roadmap underscore its potential for sustainable long-term growth and market share expansion. The company's commitment to transparency and advertiser-centric value creation provides a distinct competitive edge against the complexities and conflicts of larger rivals. For investors, Viant represents an opportunity to participate in the secular growth of CTV and the transformative power of AI in advertising, led by a company with a proven track record of innovation and efficient execution.