Inc. Mag’s Revenue Survey Shows Where Growth Is Happening In Ad Tech

A number of ad tech companies posted enough growth to make Inc. Magazine’s annual 500/5000 revenue survey released Wednesday, while others fell off after making the 2015 list.

The survey tracks three-year revenue growth of independent companies, though the results aren’t audited and may include media costs, which can drive up gross revenue.

Advertising and marketing companies comprised about 10% of the list, or around 500 companies, indicating there’s still plenty of room for up-and-comers – or that the market is in desperate need of consolidation.

“The rise of the Google-Facebook duopoly creates a scramble for third place and not everybody wins,” noted Gartner research VP Martin Kihn. “Although we don’t know their margins, a quiet powerhouse here is The Trade Desk, which has mastered the agency channel.”

The Trade Desk said revenue grew 263% to $114.3 million. But last year, when it first appeared on the list by posting a 6,949% three-year growth rate, its revenues totaled $202 million. That discrepancy indicates it may have flipped how it accounts revenue.

Rival DSP DataXu said its revenues totaled $200 million, up from $167.5 million the year before. And MediaMath won the award for the ad tech company with the highest revenue on the list. The DSP said it posted revenue of $601 million and a growth rate of 344%. Last year, it said its revenues totaled $471 million.

Integral Ad Science reaped the benefits of marketers’ attention to viewability and fraud. Three-year revenue increased 678% to $93 million. Last year, it posted revenue of $51.9 million.

Another star in growth and revenue was AppLovin. The app marketing company grew 4,132% over the past three years, and posted revenue of $234.1 million, putting it second among ad tech firms.

Other mobile or cross-device ad tech companies on the list include Drawbridge, Tapad, Tune, Kargo, Signal and NinthDecimal, which Kihn attributed to “demand for tools and data that help marketers target people more precisely in time and space.”

Teads, early to the outstream video trend, posted revenues of $142.3 million, a 206% three-year growth rate.

Altitude Digital, Adzerk, Ampush, Dstillery and xAd fell off the list of fast-growing ad tech companies.

Below are highlights of the survey ranked from highest revenue to lowest reported (and nonaudited) 2015 revenue, and including three-year growth rate.