Viant Technologies (DSP) Q3 2025: CTV Share Hits 46% as AI Suite Drives 22% Pro Forma Growth
Viant Technologies’ Q3 results reveal surging CTV demand and accelerating adoption of its autonomous ad platform, propelling pro forma growth far above headline figures. A marquee Molson Coors win and deepening AI integration signal a multi-segment expansion story, with operating leverage and innovation setting up margin gains into 2026. Investors should focus on the underlying spend shift and Viant’s unique positioning as the only independent, objective buy-side DSP at scale.
Summary
- CTV Expansion Redefines Platform Mix: Connected TV spend reached 46% of total, driving adoption and segment leadership.
- AI Product Suite Unlocks New Market Tiers: Rollout of Viant AI phases positions the platform for both upmarket and SMB penetration.
- Pipeline and Margin Tailwinds Set Up 2026: Record new customer wins and disciplined cost structure support accelerating growth and margin expansion.
Performance Analysis
Viant Technologies delivered record Q3 results, with revenue and contribution XTAC both exceeding guidance midpoints and adjusted EBITDA surpassing the high end of guidance. Revenue rose 7% year over year, but this headline understates the true momentum: excluding temporary headwinds from last year’s political ad cycle and a lost seasonal client, pro forma revenue climbed 19% and contribution XTAC surged 22%. These adjustments reveal robust underlying advertiser demand and effective execution across core and emerging channels.
CTV (Connected TV) spend hit an all-time high, representing 46% of total advertiser spend—a clear indicator of Viant’s leadership in the fastest-growing segment of programmatic advertising. The company’s top six verticals, including healthcare, retail, and consumer goods, led platform growth, while new customer acquisition remained strong, highlighted by a multi-year Molson Coors partnership. Notably, contribution XTAC from the top 100 customers grew 18% year over year, and the number of customers generating over $1 million in XTAC jumped 39% on a trailing 12-month basis.
- CTV Channel Dominance: CTV accounted for 46% of spend, with nearly half running through Direct Access premium publishers.
- AI-Driven Efficiency: AI bidding now powers 85% of ad spend, with contribution XTAC from AI bidding more than doubling year over year.
- Operating Leverage Evident: Contribution XTAC per employee rose over 7% as organic opex grew just 7% year over year, reflecting disciplined cost control amid innovation investment.
Adjusted EBITDA margin reached 30% of contribution XTAC, well above guidance, despite absorbing elevated costs from recent acquisitions. Non-GAAP net income dipped due to lower interest income and higher tax, but pre-tax income increased, highlighting core profitability. The balance sheet remains strong, with $161 million in cash and no debt, and $59.6 million returned via share repurchases since May 2024.
Executive Commentary
"Growth was driven by new customer wins, accelerating CTV demand, a surge in streaming audio demand, greater adoption of Viant's addressability solutions, and the expanded use of the Viant AI product suite."
Tim Vanderhoek, Chief Executive Officer
"We remain focused on scaling efficiently. Even as we continue to invest in innovation across Viant AI and our broader technology stack, we are delivering measurable gains in productivity, increasing contribution extract per employee by over 7% year over year, a clear signal of improved operational efficiency."
Larry Madden, Chief Financial Officer
Strategic Positioning
1. CTV and Premium Video: Platform Share and Differentiation
CTV is now the cornerstone of Viant’s platform, accounting for 46% of total spend and growing at an accelerating pace. The company’s Direct Access program, which routes spend directly to premium publishers like Disney+, Paramount+, and NBCU, enhances efficiency and transparency. Iris ID, Viant’s content-level identifier, has tripled its presence in the CTV bidstream in one year, enabling scene-level targeting and driving a 48% conversion rate improvement. This deep integration and differentiation position Viant as a leader in measurable, high-value video advertising.
2. AI Suite and Autonomous Advertising: Full Stack, Full Cycle
Viant AI’s phased rollout—AI bidding, planning, measurement, and soon decisioning—transforms the platform into a “self-driving” DSP. AI bidding now automates 85% of spend and AI planning enables campaign creation from a single prompt, democratizing advanced campaign execution for all advertiser sizes. The upcoming AI decisioning phase will enable full campaign automation, targeting the vast SMB and performance advertiser market with a “do-it-for-me” solution that directly competes with Google’s PMAX and Meta’s Advantage Plus, but with a focus on open internet channels like CTV and streaming audio.
3. Independence and Objectivity: Competitive Positioning
Viant’s independence—owning no publisher inventory and aligning incentives solely with advertisers—stands in stark contrast to competitors like Google, Amazon, and The Trade Desk, who increasingly direct spend to their own properties or supply paths. This objectivity is resonating, as evidenced by the Molson Coors win and growing preference among major brands for platforms that optimize for outcomes, not internal margin. Viant’s household and content identifiers offer unmatched scale and precision, covering 95% of US households and 80% of biddable inventory.
4. Multi-Segment Expansion: Upmarket and Downmarket
Viant is executing a dual-pronged expansion: upmarket with major brands (Molson Coors, others in pipeline) and downmarket to SMBs and e-commerce advertisers. The product-led go-to-market approach leverages AI to minimize sales headcount while maximizing reach and efficiency. The company is actively pursuing over $250 million in incremental annualized ad spend from major advertisers, with the majority still up for grabs.
Key Considerations
Viant’s Q3 reveals a business in transition from mid-market dominance to multi-tier expansion, underpinned by AI and CTV leadership. Investors should consider:
- CTV and Iris ID Penetration: Viant’s ability to scale CTV and deepen Iris ID integration will be critical to sustaining above-market growth and reinforcing competitive moats.
- AI Decisioning Launch: The year-end rollout of AI decisioning is a pivotal catalyst, enabling true self-serve for SMBs and unlocking a vast new TAM (total addressable market).
- Pipeline Conversion: The $250 million pipeline of major advertiser spend is a key forward driver, with only a minority converted to date and larger deals still in play.
- Margin Expansion: Operating leverage is set to accelerate as acquisition-related opex is lapped and AI-driven efficiencies scale, supporting significant EBITDA margin gains into 2026.
- Competitive Independence: Ongoing differentiation as the only major independent buy-side DSP may become more valuable as industry conflicts deepen.
Risks
Key risks include continued customer concentration in top verticals, the pace of SMB adoption for the new AI decisioning module, and intensifying competition from vertically integrated giants (Google, Amazon, The Trade Desk) who can cross-subsidize or bundle inventory. Temporary headwinds from political ad cycles and client losses due to M&A may create short-term noise, though management expects these to subside in 2026.
Forward Outlook
For Q4 2025, Viant guided to:
- Revenue of $101.5 to $104.5 million (up 14% YoY reported; 20% pro forma ex-political)
- Contribution XTAC of $62 to $64 million (up 16% YoY; 21% pro forma ex-political)
- Adjusted EBITDA of $22.5 to $23.5 million (35% YoY growth)
For full-year 2025, management expects:
- Revenue and contribution XTAC growth of 17% (22% pro forma)
- Adjusted EBITDA growth of 25% and margin of 27% (up nearly 200 bps YoY)
Management highlighted that political ad headwinds will abate in 2026, with accelerating growth and significant margin expansion expected as new clients onboard and opex growth moderates. The Molson Coors partnership will begin ramping in Q2 2026, with additional pipeline wins expected.
Takeaways
Viant’s Q3 results underscore a business hitting its stride in CTV and AI-driven automation, with pro forma growth and customer wins pointing to sustained outperformance.
- CTV Leadership Is Self-Reinforcing: Share gains in CTV and Iris ID adoption are compounding platform value, driving both spend and differentiation in a crowded DSP market.
- AI Suite Is a TAM Expander: Viant’s full-cycle AI platform is set to unlock performance advertising budgets and SMB access, creating a new layer of growth beyond the mid-market core.
- Margin and Pipeline Set Up 2026: Operating leverage, easing headwinds, and a deep pipeline of large advertisers position Viant for accelerating growth and margin gains next year.
Conclusion
Viant Technologies’ Q3 2025 performance demonstrates the power of combining independent positioning, CTV scale, and AI innovation. With a robust balance sheet and a clear path to multi-segment expansion, the company is well-placed to capture secular shifts in digital advertising as industry conflicts intensify and advertisers seek measurable, objective outcomes.
Industry Read-Through
Viant’s results and commentary highlight several broader industry currents: CTV’s rapid share gain and the rise of content-level identifiers are reshaping video ad buying, with precision and measurability now table stakes for brand and performance advertisers alike. AI-powered campaign automation is lowering barriers for SMBs and performance marketers to participate in open internet channels, challenging the dominance of walled gardens (Meta, Google). Independence and objectivity are increasingly strategic differentiators as more DSPs vertically integrate or bundle supply paths. For the sector, expect further consolidation, more aggressive AI-driven product launches, and a sharper divide between objective and vertically integrated platforms.