DSP Stock: Insider Activity, Filings & Research
Viant Technology Inc. (DSP) — Drillr’s hub for DSP insider activity, SEC filings, earnings signals and AI research. Over the trailing 3 months, DSP insiders filed 0 open-market buys and 31 sales (SEC Form 4).
DSP insider trading activity (SEC Form 4)
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2026 | Vanderhook Christopherdirector, 10 percent owner, officer: Chief Operating Officer | Sell | 2,500 | $10.79 |
| May 21, 2026 | Vanderhook Christopherdirector, 10 percent owner, officer: Chief Operating Officer | Option | 12,500 | — |
| May 21, 2026 | Vanderhook Christopherdirector, 10 percent owner, officer: Chief Operating Officer | Sell | 5,000 | $10.89 |
| May 21, 2026 | Capital V LLC10 percent owner | Sell | 7,500 | $10.79 |
| May 21, 2026 | Capital V LLC10 percent owner | Sell | 15,000 | $10.89 |
| May 21, 2026 | Capital V LLC10 percent owner | Option | 37,500 | — |
| May 21, 2026 | Vanderhook Timothydirector, 10 percent owner, officer: CEO and Chairman | Sell | 2,500 | $10.79 |
| May 21, 2026 | Vanderhook Timothydirector, 10 percent owner, officer: CEO and Chairman | Sell | 5,000 | $10.89 |
| May 21, 2026 | Vanderhook Timothydirector, 10 percent owner, officer: CEO and Chairman | Option | 12,500 | — |
| May 12, 2026 | MADDEN LARRYofficer: Chief Financial Officer | Sell | 18,538 | $11.85 |
| May 12, 2026 | MADDEN LARRYofficer: Chief Financial Officer | Sell | 13,826 | $11.29 |
| May 12, 2026 | MADDEN LARRYofficer: Chief Financial Officer | Sell | 3,471 | $11.95 |
| Apr 23, 2026 | MADDEN LARRYofficer: Chief Financial Officer | Sell | 12,782 | $10.16 |
| Apr 23, 2026 | MADDEN LARRYofficer: Chief Financial Officer | Sell | 13,263 | $10.74 |
| Apr 23, 2026 | MADDEN LARRYofficer: Chief Financial Officer | Sell | 13,283 | $10.91 |
Source: DSP SEC Form 4 filings, latest May 21, 2026. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
Viant Technology Inc. company profile
Overview
Viant Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:DSP) is an advertising software company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Irvine, California. The company went public in February 2021 and operates as an independent demand-side platform (DSP) that enables marketers and advertising agencies to plan, buy, and measure advertising campaigns across multiple digital channels. Viant has positioned itself as a buy-side-only platform, meaning it exclusively serves advertisers rather than competing with them by also selling advertising inventory, which differentiates it from larger competitors like Google and Amazon who operate on both sides of the advertising marketplace.
Business
Viant operates in the programmatic advertising industry, which involves the automated buying and selling of digital advertising space in real-time through software platforms. Programmatic advertising uses algorithms and data to purchase ad inventory across websites, mobile apps, connected TV platforms, and other digital properties, replacing the traditional manual process of buying ads directly from publishers. The company's core product is Adelphic, an enterprise software platform that serves as a demand-side platform (DSP). A DSP is essentially a software system that allows advertisers to automatically bid on and purchase advertising inventory from multiple sources simultaneously. Think of it as a sophisticated auction system where advertisers can set parameters for their ideal audience, budget, and campaign goals, and the platform automatically finds and bids on relevant advertising opportunities across the internet. Viant's platform enables advertising across several key channels: 1. Connected TV (CTV), which represents over 40% of total platform spend and includes streaming services and smart TV applications. 2. Mobile and desktop advertising on websites and applications. 3. Streaming audio advertising on platforms like Spotify and Pandora, representing about 10% of spend. 4. Digital out-of-home advertising on digital billboards and displays. 5. In-game advertising within video games and mobile gaming applications. The company also offers several proprietary technologies that enhance its core DSP offering: Viant Household ID creates detailed household profiles for better targeting without relying on individual user cookies, Viant Identity Graph helps match people-based identifiers across devices and platforms, and the recently launched ViantAI suite provides artificial intelligence-powered campaign optimization, bidding, and planning tools. Additionally, Viant operates a Data Lake that provides analytics and measurement capabilities, helping advertisers understand campaign performance and return on advertising spend.
Revenue model
Viant generates revenue primarily through platform fees charged on advertising spend that flows through its demand-side platform. When advertisers purchase media inventory through Viant's platform, the company retains a percentage of the total spend as its fee, while the remainder (called Traffic Acquisition Cost or TAC) goes to the publishers and supply-side platforms that provide the advertising inventory. The company's financial model centers on Contribution ex-TAC, which represents revenue minus traffic acquisition costs - essentially the gross profit from platform operations. In 2024, Viant generated $289.2 million in total revenue with a contribution ex-TAC of approximately $185 million, indicating the company retains roughly 64% of gross advertising spend as its fee structure. Viant's primary customers are advertising agencies (both large independent agencies and mid-market agencies) and direct advertisers across various industries including healthcare, consumer goods, automotive, travel, and public services. The company has cultivated a customer base of over 300 active advertisers, with a focus on mid-market clients who value the platform's transparency and independent positioning. Several factors influence Viant's profitability margins: 1. Channel mix shifts - Connected TV advertising typically commands higher platform fees than display advertising, so growth in CTV spend improves margins. 2. Customer concentration - Larger customers often negotiate lower platform fees, while smaller customers may pay premium rates. 3. Inventory costs - Direct relationships with premium publishers can reduce intermediary costs and improve margins. 4. Technology efficiency - AI-powered optimization tools reduce operational costs and can justify premium pricing. 5. Market competition - Competitive pressure from larger DSPs like Google's DV360 and Amazon's DSP can compress pricing, while Viant's independent positioning may command premium pricing from advertisers seeking alternatives to these platforms. 6. Economic conditions - During economic downturns, advertising budgets typically contract, reducing overall platform spend and revenue.
Competitive moat
Viant's competitive moat is moderate but potentially strengthening through its strategic positioning and proprietary technology assets. The company's primary defensive advantage lies in its independent, buy-side-only positioning in a market increasingly dominated by large technology companies like Google and Amazon that operate on both sides of the advertising marketplace. This independence appeals to advertisers concerned about conflicts of interest and data privacy when using platforms owned by companies that also compete for advertising dollars. The company's Household ID technology represents a significant technical moat, particularly as the industry moves away from third-party cookies. This proprietary identity resolution system works across 80% of biddable advertising inventory and provides household-level targeting and measurement capabilities that many competitors lack. The recent acquisitions of Iris TV and Locker further strengthen this data and identity advantage by adding content identification and data collaboration capabilities. However, Viant faces substantial competitive threats from well-funded incumbents. Google's Display & Video 360 and Amazon's DSP benefit from massive scale, extensive first-party data, and integration with broader advertising ecosystems. These platforms can offer lower pricing due to economies of scale and cross-subsidization from other business units. Additionally, newer entrants like The Trade Desk operate with similar independent positioning but have achieved greater scale and market penetration. The company's AI and automation capabilities through ViantAI provide some differentiation, but artificial intelligence in advertising is rapidly becoming commoditized, and larger competitors have substantially greater resources to invest in AI development. Viant's focus on the mid-market segment offers some protection from direct competition with enterprise-focused platforms, but this market positioning also limits growth potential and pricing power compared to platforms serving large enterprise clients.
Risks & safety
Viant maintains a strong financial position with substantial cash reserves and manageable debt levels, though profitability remains inconsistent. **Cash and Liquidity:** - Cash and short-term investments: $173.9 million as of Q1 2025 - Current ratio: 2.71, indicating strong short-term liquidity - Free cash flow: -$8.2 million in Q1 2025, but generated positive $49.3 million for full year 2024 **Debt and Solvency:** - Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.69, representing moderate leverage - No significant solvency concerns given strong cash position - Operating cash flow volatility due to seasonal advertising patterns **Valuation Metrics:** - Price-to-book ratio: 5.6, indicating premium valuation relative to book value - EV/EBITDA: Negative in Q1 2025 due to minimal EBITDA of -$0.5 million - Revenue multiple appears elevated given modest profitability and growth deceleration **Other Considerations:** - Dependence on advertising market cycles creates earnings volatility - Strong balance sheet provides runway for strategic investments and acquisitions - Graham net-net value of 8.2 suggests potential downside protection from tangible book value
Recent development
Over the past several years, Viant has executed a strategic transformation focused on three key areas: artificial intelligence automation, connected TV dominance, and addressability solutions. The company launched ViantAI in 2024 as a comprehensive suite of AI-powered advertising tools, progressing through four phases: AI Bidding (now handling 85% of platform spend), AI Planning for rapid campaign creation, AI Measurement and Analysis (launched in Q2 2025), and AI Decisioning (expected in H2 2025). This represents a shift toward autonomous advertising platform capabilities designed to democratize programmatic advertising for smaller businesses. The company has aggressively expanded its Connected TV capabilities, with CTV now representing over 40% of total platform spend. Viant developed a Direct Access program that connects advertisers directly to premium CTV inventory, with over 55% of CTV spend now flowing through these direct publisher relationships. This strategy aims to capture the massive shift of advertising dollars from traditional linear television to streaming platforms. Two strategic acquisitions in 2024 significantly enhanced Viant's addressability and data capabilities: Iris TV brought content identification technology for precise video-level targeting in CTV environments, while Locker added data collaboration platform capabilities to help publishers integrate first-party data more efficiently. These acquisitions support Viant's Household ID technology, which now provides targeting capabilities across 80% of biddable advertising inventory and has achieved 95% match rates with data partners like TransUnion. The company has also focused on expanding its addressable market by targeting small and medium-sized businesses currently using search and social media platforms. This represents a strategic shift from primarily serving advertising agencies to also pursuing direct relationships with performance-focused advertisers seeking alternatives to Google and Facebook's advertising platforms.
DSP company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
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