Stone Mountain Research (@stonemountainresearch): "The Trade Desk's reported free cash flow of $783 million is not the number that matters. The number that matters is $359 million. SBC totaled $491 million in FY2025. Of that, $424 million was dilutive RSU grants that vest into real shares regardless of stock price. Subtracting …"

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The Trade Desk's reported free cash flow of $783 million is not the number that matters. The number that matters is $359 million.

SBC totaled $491 million in FY2025. Of that, $424 million was dilutive RSU grants that vest into real shares regardless of stock price. Subtracting only the dilutive portion from reported FCF cuts the headline figure by more than half.

Despite $2.3 billion in buybacks over FY2023-FY2025, diluted shares outstanding barely moved — from 502 million to 494 million. The buybacks were running in place against RSU dilution.

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8:33 PM

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