How many adtech companies are there?

The adtech landscape is constantly changing, but one estimate pegs the number of adtech companies operating in the United States at 3,375.

What is the future of adtech?

No one knows the future for certain, but it's safe to say that AI and machine learning will continue to play a pivotal role in adtech.

What is the trend in adtech in ##YEAR##?

AI continues to play a critical role in adtech for ##year##. Magnite, for example, announced in June 2025 that it's collaborating with Anoki AI to bring sophisticated AI tools to connected TV advertising.

Are adtech stocks good for long-term investment?

It's highly unlikely that companies will eschew advertising as a way to grow their businesses anytime soon. Investors who are comfortable with long-term holding periods can prosper from investing in adtech stocks.

Are there ETFs that include adtech stocks?

There are limited options for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that solely include adtech stocks. Investors, however, may want to consider a broad communications ETF like the Vanguard Communication Services ETF (NYSEMKT:VOX) which has adtech exposure through holdings like The Trade Desk, Magnite, and DoubleVerify.

How do adtech companies generate revenue?

Demand-side platforms like The Trade Desk generate revenue by charging customers platform fees, which are usually based on a percentage of their total platform spend. Sell-side adtech companies like PubMatic and Magnite generate revenue from charging fees for the impressions sold.

Should I diversify adtech stocks with other tech investments?

Absolutely, investors should diversify. The tech industry is multifaceted, and investors would be well-served to gain exposure to a variety of niches in the tech industry -- not only adtech stocks.

Best Adtech Stocks to Buy in 2026

Best Adtech Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest

By Scott Levine – Updated Feb 10, 2026 at 5:36 PM EST | Fact-checked by Frank Bass

Key Points

The adtech market is estimated to grow from $1.1 trillion in 2026 to $3.2 trillion by 2034.
The Trade Desk's AI platform helps advertisers automate ad buying across multiple channels.
DoubleVerify offers a solution to verify ad performance and protect against ad fraud.

The advertising technology, or adtech, industry uses software and AI to help advertisers buy ads more efficiently and help publishers monetize content. As digital advertising expands across mobile, streaming, and connected TV, these tools are becoming more important. Industry forecasts suggest the global adtech market could grow from about $1.1 trillion in 2026 to more than $3 trillion by the next decade.

For investors, that growth is drawing attention to companies building the infrastructure behind digital ads. Here are some of our favorites.

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Ticker Information Table
Name and ticker	Market cap	Current price
The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD)	$9.8 billion	$20.08
PubMatic (NASDAQ:PUBM)	$400.6 million	$8.47
Magnite (NASDAQ:MGNI)	$1.7 billion	$11.98
Digital Turbine (NASDAQ:APPS)	$360.9 million	$2.82
DoubleVerify (NYSE:DV)	$1.6 billion	$9.55

Data as of Apr 10, 2026. Showing 5 of 5 tickers.

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NASDAQ: TTD

The Trade Desk

Today's Change

(-2.57%) $-0.53

Current Price

$20.08

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$9.8B

Day's Range

$19.98 - $21.02

52wk Range

$19.74 - $91.45

Volume

426K

Avg Vol

19M

Gross Margin

78.63%

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2. PubMatic

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NASDAQ: PUBM

PubMatic

Today's Change

(0.24%) $0.02

Current Price

$8.47

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$401M

Day's Range

$8.32 - $8.56

52wk Range

$6.15 - $13.88

Volume

520K

Avg Vol

752K

Gross Margin

63.56%

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While The Trade Desk focuses on ad buyers, PubMatic’s (PUBM +0.24%) sell-side platform enables publishers and app developers to better monetize their content. Of course, a publisher could go it alone and sell ad space directly. But the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and there’s no guarantee money isn't being left on the table.

PubMatic’s home-grown cloud platform processed an astounding 87 trillion ad impressions in the third quarter of 2025 -- a 24% year-over-year increase -- for its more than 2,000 publishers. The company's platform is integrated with major buy-side platforms, including The Trade Desk, providing a vast array of ad inventory to tens of thousands of advertisers.

PubMatic’s approach to infrastructure is unique. Instead of relying on a cloud computing provider, PubMatic owns and operates its own hardware. This makes the business more capital-intensive, but it saves PubMatic from massive cloud computing bills that would eat into its profits. The company has consistently leveraged its infrastructure and used software improvements. In the third quarter of 2025, for example, PubMatic reduced its unit cost of impressions by 19% year over year for the trailing-12-month period.

The intense focus on keeping costs down has allowed the business to serve up dependable profits. While PubMatic's sales growth has slowed this year and caused volatile moves for the company's share price, the stock looks attractively valued. For investors seeking adtech stocks with explosive upside, PubMatic is certainly worth a look.

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3. Magnite

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NASDAQ: MGNI

Magnite

Today's Change

(1.35%) $0.16

Current Price

$11.98

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$1.7B

Day's Range

$11.59 - $12.19

52wk Range

$9.29 - $26.65

Volume

1.7M

Avg Vol

2.3M

Gross Margin

62.08%

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Like PubMatic, Magnite (MGNI +1.40%) operates a sell-side digital advertising platform. The company was formed in 2020 by the merger of The Rubicon Project and Telaria, the latter of which focused on connected TV and video publishers. With revenue of $668.2 million in 2024, Magnite is more than twice the size of PubMatic in terms of sales.

Neither Magnite nor PubMatic owns any media properties, so their interests are squarely aligned with those of their publisher customers. Unlike PubMatic, Magnite makes use of cloud computing providers to handle some of its processing. Magnite adopts a hybrid approach, mixing servers hosted at data centers around the world with cloud platforms.

Being the biggest independent sell-side player, Magnite is certainly a stock to consider, especially considering how the company continuously improves its bottom line. In 2024, the company generated net income of $22.8 million -- a marked gain over the negative $159.2 million in 2023 and negative $130.3 million in 2022. More recently, Magnite reported $0.13 diluted EPS for the third quarter of 2025, representing astounding growth of 225% compared to the same period in 2024.

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NASDAQ: APPS

Digital Turbine

Today's Change

(-6.31%) $-0.19

Current Price

$2.82

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$361M

Day's Range

$2.76 - $3.05

52wk Range

$2.52 - $8.28

Volume

2.4M

Avg Vol

2.9M

Gross Margin

33.55%

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Digital Turbine (APPS -6.31%) is in the business of helping wireless carriers and device manufacturers manage and monetize devices. DigitalTurbine's solution enables app installation at activation and during the lifetime of the device. Third-party advertisers pay for each install or action, allowing carriers and original equipment manufacturers to generate additional revenue.

Various acquisitions have expanded the scope of Digital Turbine's offerings. Through the acquisitions of Mobile Posse, AdColony, Appreciate, and Fyber, the company enables broader monetization over the lifetime of devices.

Digital Turbine has powered billions of app preloads, and it has more than 40 long-term agreements with companies, including Verizon (VZ -2.19%), AT&T (T -0.41%), and Samsung (OTC:SSNL.F). The ad specialist spends little on operating costs, but the business has faced headwinds stemming from relatively soft mobile device sales, macroeconomic pressures, and other factors for the past few years.

But the company has shown signs of turning things around in fiscal 2025 thanks to management embracing artificial intelligence and machine learning. After suffering from several years of lagging sales, Digital Turbine expects improvements in fiscal 2026, forecasting both year-over-year revenue growth of 10% to 12% and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) growth of 38% to 45%.

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5. DoubleVerify

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NYSE: DV

DoubleVerify

Today's Change

(-1.85%) $-0.18

Current Price

$9.55

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$1.6B

Day's Range

$9.38 - $9.77

52wk Range

$7.64 - $16.82

Volume

2.4M

Avg Vol

2.9M

Gross Margin

74.60%

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Advertisers have no shortage of options when it comes to buying ads, but it’s still a challenge to determine if those ads are paying off. Publishers, social media companies, and other platforms often self-report data related to advertising, which is not always accurate. For example, publisher Gannett (NYSE:GCI) was passing inaccurate data to online advertisers for nine months before discovering the problem.

DoubleVerify (DV -1.85%) aims to solve this problem for advertisers with its digital media measurement and analytics platform. Integrated across the digital advertising industry, DoubleVerify provides insights into advertising performance and metrics that give advertisers peace of mind. On top of knowing whether their ads are performing well, advertisers also want to make sure their ads aren’t being hit by fraud and are being displayed in places suitable for their brand.

More than 8 trillion media transactions were measured through DoubleVerify’s platform in 2024, pushing sales up 15% to hit $657 million, and management forecasts continued growth to $750 million to $754 million in 2025. Upsells of premium-priced products, such as Authentic Brand Suitability, are helping to drive sales higher. Profits are also poised to climb. After reporting year-over-year adjusted EBITDA growth of 31% and 33% in 2023 and 2024, respectively, DoubleVerify projects 33% year-over-year adjusted EBITDA growth for 2025.

As advertisers lose faith in self-reported data, DoubleVerify is ready to deliver the accurate metrics necessary to run successful ad campaigns.

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Investing in adtech stocks FAQ

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About the Author

Scott Levine is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering energy, industrials, technology, and materials. He is also a high school English teacher and a small business owner. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and creative writing from Binghamton University, a master’s degree in secondary education from Adelphi University, and an advanced certificate in school building leadership from CUNY Queens College. A crossword puzzle enthusiast, he has solved more than 3,100 New York Times puzzles with a 97% solve rate.

TMFProudMonkey

@TMFProudMonkey

Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends DoubleVerify, PubMatic, Roku, and The Trade Desk. The Motley Fool recommends Magnite and Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Best Adtech Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest

Key Points

Key Data Points

2. PubMatic

Key Data Points

3. Magnite

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

5. DoubleVerify

Key Data Points

Related investing topics

Best Communication Stocks for 2026 and How to Invest

Best 5G Stocks for 2026 and How to Invest

Best Internet of Things Stocks for 2026 and How to Invest

Best Cybersecurity Stocks for 2026 and How to Invest

Investing in adtech stocks FAQ

How many adtech companies are there?

How many adtech companies are there?

What is the future of adtech?

What is the future of adtech?

What is the trend in adtech in 2026?

What is the trend in adtech in 2026?

Are adtech stocks good for long-term investment?

Are adtech stocks good for long-term investment?

Are there ETFs that include adtech stocks?

Are there ETFs that include adtech stocks?

How do adtech companies generate revenue?

How do adtech companies generate revenue?

Should I diversify adtech stocks with other tech investments?

Should I diversify adtech stocks with other tech investments?

About the Author

Read Next

Stocks Mentioned

Premium Investing Services

Investing in adtech stocks FAQ

How many adtech companies are there?

How many adtech companies are there?

What is the future of adtech?

What is the future of adtech?

What is the trend in adtech in 2026?

What is the trend in adtech in 2026?

Are adtech stocks good for long-term investment?

Are adtech stocks good for long-term investment?

Are there ETFs that include adtech stocks?

Are there ETFs that include adtech stocks?

How do adtech companies generate revenue?

How do adtech companies generate revenue?

Should I diversify adtech stocks with other tech investments?

Should I diversify adtech stocks with other tech investments?

Best Communication Stocks for 2026 and How to Invest

Best 5G Stocks for 2026 and How to Invest

Best Internet of Things Stocks for 2026 and How to Invest

Best Cybersecurity Stocks for 2026 and How to Invest

Key Data Points

Top adtech stocks to consider

1. The Trade Desk

2. PubMatic

3. Magnite

4. Digital Turbine

5. DoubleVerify

Pros and cons of investing in adtech stocks

Tips for investing in adtech stocks

How to invest in adtech stocks

Related investing topics

FAQ

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

Key Data Points