Magnite Calls Its CTV Growth Broad-Based. Political Ran Nearly 3x Its Forecast.

Magnite reported Q3 on Nov. 4, and it was a good one. Revenue was $204.2 million, up 14%. Contribution ex-TAC rose 20% to $200.6 million, beating the top of its own range. CTV grew 39% to $105.4 million and is now 53% of contribution ex-TAC. Adjusted EBITDA hit $83.4 million, a 42% margin. CEO Michael Barrett called the CTV momentum broad-based.

Now read the next line. Magnite says it beat political expectations, mostly in CTV, and now expects full-year political spend to be nearly three times its initial forecast. Political money comes every other year. The 2027 outlook says so in its own way: over 15% growth excluding political and any Google remedies upside, or 10% on a total reported basis. Meanwhile the open web, DV+, grew 5%.

ADOTAT has been writing about the pipes this money runs through. On the day these results came out, ADOTAT reported that Magnite's Rubicon was among the identity vendors that issued an ID to a self-declared research bot. Its ACR story found TV makers blind inside Netflix and YouTube. And its Cox series showed that in live sports CTV, nobody accredited checks whose game it was. None of that is in an earnings release. It's the part buyers should ask about on the next call.