Justin Patterson

Justin Patterson inquired about how increased macroeconomic uncertainty is factored into the Q2 guidance and how the company is managing the business for the second half of the year.

Answer

CEO Jeff Green acknowledged the macro pressure on clients but pointed to the strong Q1 performance as proof of the company's resilience. He explained that during uncertain times, The Trade Desk aims to be a strategic partner and focuses on gaining market share, or 'grabbing land.' He expressed confidence that positive secular tailwinds from streaming and a fairer open internet, combined with product innovation in Kokai, position the company to either accelerate growth or gain share, regardless of the macro environment.

Justin Patterson inquired about the company's potential to sustain a 20%+ compound growth rate over the next several years post-recalibration and asked about the level of investment required to achieve this.

Answer

Co-Founder and CEO Jeff Green expressed confidence in the ability to reaccelerate growth, pointing to numerous tailwinds and the 15 strategic actions outlined in the call, such as focusing on scale, improving the supply chain with OpenPath, and growing CTV and audio. CFO Laura Schenkein added that the company anticipates a modest increase in operating expense growth in 2025, leading to some deleverage for the year as they invest in infrastructure and talent. She also highlighted the new $1 billion share repurchase authorization as part of their capital allocation strategy.

Justin Patterson asked for more detail on the audio advertising opportunity, specifically what industry changes are needed for it to become a larger part of TTD's business.

Answer

CEO Jeff Green explained that digital audio's total addressable market is often underestimated and that global players like Spotify have a massive opportunity given high consumer engagement. He compared audio's current state to where CTV was a few years ago, noting it's in the early stages of its evolution. He believes that as major platforms build out their programmatic capabilities and ad experiences, audio can capture a much larger share of ad budgets, and TTD's partnership with Spotify is a key step in this multiyear process.

Justin Patterson asked about Spotify's perspective on the time spent opportunity for music and non-music content, considering new categories like audiobooks that have added to listening hours, and the potential for a TAM in billions of users.

Answer

Daniel Ek, CEO, emphasized Spotify's superpower in building great product experiences and monetizing professional content effectively from the start. He noted that many content types lack attractive user experiences or accessible price points, and Spotify innovates at this intersection. He believes AI will enable new user experiences and business models, making Spotify a net beneficiary.

Justin Patterson asked how Spotify thinks about the size of investment and degree of user engagement needed across audiobooks, video, and education to support future price increases.

Answer

Alex Norström, Chief Business Officer & Co-President, focused on the outcome, stating the goal is to reach 1 billion subscribers. He highlighted Spotify's 45% subscriber market share and 65% share of global music streams as the backdrop for investment, emphasizing that the multi-format strategy is working but did not specify investment sizes.

Justin Patterson of KeyBanc Capital Markets asked a series of questions on Spotify's product and content strategy, focusing on the impact of AI on productivity, the investment criteria for podcasting content, and the roadmap for improving the audiobook user experience.

Answer

Co-President and CPTO Gustav Söderström explained that AI is integral to personalization and is boosting internal productivity, with tools like AI playlists being early examples. He noted AI will enhance product development and planning. Co-President and CBO Alex Norström added that podcasting investment is tied to driving creator content growth, which in turn drives user engagement. Gustav Söderström also detailed audiobook improvements, including better discovery via AI and text-to-audio technology partnerships.

Justin Patterson from KeyBanc Capital Markets questioned the key levers for future Premium ARPU growth and how Spotify justifies price adjustments to maintain its value proposition for subscribers.

Answer

Co-President & CBO Alex Norström identified three primary ARPU levers: price adjustments, future product tiering, and selling add-ons. He stressed that Spotify continuously adds value through new features like AI playlists and expanded content offerings such as audiobooks and video podcasts to support its pricing strategy.

In a second question, Justin Patterson from KeyBanc Capital Markets inquired about the specific operational changes that have enabled Spotify to increase its speed of execution.

Answer

Co-President & CPTO Gustav Söderström attributed the acceleration to a unique, synchronized operating model. He and Co-President Alex Norström manage a single leadership team and prioritize company-wide initiatives ('bets') in 6-month increments. This creates crystal-clear, stack-ranked priorities for the entire organization, improving efficiency and speed.

Justin Patterson of KeyBanc Capital Markets asked about the key drivers required for Spotify to achieve its long-term goal of 20% annual revenue growth.

Answer

CEO Daniel Ek stated that reaching this goal requires a combination of strong top-line user growth and robust monetization. He noted significant runway remains for MAU growth and expressed confidence in the company's ability to monetize through price increases and the introduction of more subscription and advertising SKUs.

Justin Patterson asked about the implications of the new home screen for engagement and monetization, and future ad product innovations beyond DSP integrations.

Answer

CEO Anthony Wood detailed the new home screen's goals: maintaining its iconic status, increasing usefulness, driving higher viewer satisfaction, and boosting monetization. He also discussed ongoing DSP deepening and a suite of new ad products focused on performance, targeting, generative AI integration, and addressing small/medium businesses. President of Roku Media Charlie Collier emphasized authentication and driving marketer outcomes. CFO Dan Jedda highlighted strong subscription business growth.

Justin Patterson asked about the significance of The Roku Channel (TRC) becoming the #2 app on the platform and how that changes conversations with content providers and the timeline for deeper DSP integrations.

Answer

CEO Anthony Wood highlighted TRC's 84% year-over-year engagement growth as a powerful asset. President of Roku Media, Charlie Collier, explained that TRC's scale makes Roku an essential partner for content providers and provides a vast amount of ad supply for DSPs at all price points. Executive Conrad Grodd added that TRC's success demonstrates the power of the Roku OS to drive engagement, which can be leveraged for ads, subscriptions, and the newly acquired Frndly service.

Justin Patterson inquired about the potential for platform revenue growth to continue accelerating into 2025 and the appropriate level of operating expense investment needed to support that growth.

Answer

CFO Dan Jedda responded that while he expects strong growth in 2025, it may not accelerate from current high rates in every quarter due to tough comparisons against 2024's political ad spend, subscription price increases, and certain accounting adjustments. Regarding operating expenses, Jedda noted that after being slightly down in 2024, OpEx growth in 2025 is expected to be modest, allowing the company to gain operating leverage while still investing in key initiatives.

Justin Patterson asked how the recent launch of TV-playable party games might impact the daily time members spend with Netflix.

Answer

Co-CEO Greg Peters highlighted gaming as a significant entertainment form ($140 billion opportunity ex-China/Russia). He views the initiative broadly as 'interactivity,' complementing linear storytelling and unlocking new experiences. He mentioned building foundations for games and now focusing on high-quality games in key genres for specific user cohorts, including immersive narrative games, kids' games, mainstream titles, and socially engaging party games for TV. He emphasized ease of access (phone as controller) and expects creators to find novel uses for phones as controllers. Peters believes this approach extends audience engagement, creates synergy between interactive/non-interactive mediums, drives engagement/retention, and supports the business. Investment will ramp judiciously based on demonstrated returns.

Justin Patterson asked how the recent launch of party games playable on TV could influence the amount of time members spend with Netflix daily.

Answer

Co-CEO Greg Peters framed games as 'interactivity broadly,' aiming to complement linear storytelling and unlock new entertainment experiences, such as real-time voting. He detailed the strategy for games, focusing on high-quality titles in key genres (narrative, kids, mainstream, social party games) that are easy to access with a phone as a controller. He expects this approach to extend audience engagement, create synergy between interactive and non-interactive mediums, and drive retention, with judicious investment based on demonstrated returns.

Justin Patterson of KeyBanc Capital Markets inquired about Netflix's generative AI initiatives and their potential impact on revenue versus expense efficiency.

Answer

Co-CEO Ted Sarandos focused on GenAI as a tool to help creators make content better, not just cheaper, citing a VFX example that was 10x faster. Co-CEO Greg Peters added applications in improving the member experience through conversational UI and enhancing advertising, suggesting impacts across both efficiency and value creation.

Justin Patterson of KeyBanc asked about Netflix's generative AI initiatives and whether their biggest impact would be on revenue or expense efficiency.

Answer

Co-CEO Ted Sarandos focused on production, explaining that GenAI provides creators with better tools for tasks like VFX, making content better, not just cheaper. Co-CEO Greg Peters added that AI will also enhance the member experience through improved personalization and advertising, acting as a force multiplier on their content investment.

Justin Patterson of KeyBanc Capital Markets inquired about Netflix's generative AI initiatives and where the technology is expected to be most impactful.

Answer

Co-CEO Ted Sarandos focused on production, stating AI offers tools to help creators make content 'better, not just cheaper,' citing faster, high-quality VFX work in the series 'El Atonata' as an example. Co-CEO Greg Peters discussed member-facing applications, including improving recommendations and a new conversational UI for content discovery. He also noted AI's potential in advertising to help brands create compelling spots more easily.

Justin Patterson of KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. asked about Pinterest's investments in 'agentic AI' to adapt to changes in the search funnel and the expected timeline for these initiatives to yield benefits.

Answer

CEO Bill Ready positioned Pinterest as an 'AI winner,' stating the platform has effectively become an AI-enabled shopping assistant that proactively recommends items based on its unique 'taste graph.' He believes a fully autonomous 'agentic' future is a long way off for users, but Pinterest is already assisting users much further down the purchase journey through hyper-relevant, AI-driven recommendations, which is driving record user growth.

Justin Patterson of KeyBanc Capital Markets asked about the investments Pinterest is making to succeed in the new era of 'agentic AI' and how long it might take to see benefits from these initiatives.

Answer

CEO Bill Ready positioned Pinterest as an 'AI winner,' noting the platform has effectively become an AI-enabled shopping assistant that proactively recommends items based on a user's taste. He believes a fully 'agentic' future is a long cycle but stated Pinterest is already taking users further down the purchase funnel by leveraging its unique curation signal and proprietary AI models.

Justin Patterson asked how Pinterest can sustain its user engagement gains through visual search and other initiatives, especially amid broader industry shifts in AI and search.

Answer

CEO Bill Ready highlighted Pinterest's unique advantage in its proprietary curation signal from users planning purchases. This allows its specialized AI models to deliver more relevant content than general models. He pointed to record-high user numbers and engagement, even as the industry evolves, as proof that its differentiated, visual-first strategy is working.

Justin Patterson of KeyBanc Capital Markets inquired about the current trend of organic search headwinds and NerdWallet's success in driving repeat user engagement. He also asked how generative AI is influencing the company's internal product development strategy.

Answer

CEO & Chairman of The Board, Tim Chen, responded that organic search remains challenged due to AI overviews, primarily affecting learning content rather than revenue. He noted that Large Language Models (LLMs) are emerging as a new, high-intent organic channel, though still small. Chen affirmed that NerdWallet continues to invest in its app and vertical integration to re-engage users. Regarding product development, he explained that AI enhances R&D efficiency, allowing smaller teams to achieve more and enabling greater personalization in user-facing products.

Justin Patterson asked for details on NerdWallet's learnings from AI-enhanced search modules, the factors driving traffic stability, and the integration progress of the Next Door Lending acquisition.

Answer

Co-Founder and CEO Tim Chen explained that organic search traffic is stabilizing after a period of increased AI overview instances, providing confidence for a return to growth in 2026. He confirmed the Next Door Lending integration is proceeding well, driving the majority of mortgage growth with superior unit economics. Future vertical integration will target other complex financial decisions where consumers benefit from expert assistance.

Justin Patterson asked for more detail on the strategic shift away from the Monthly Unique Users (MUU) metric and how this change impacts the company's long-term growth profile.

Answer

CFO Lauren St. Waugh noted that MUU growth has recently been inversely correlated with revenue, making it a poor proxy for performance. CEO Tim Chen added that focusing on deeper engagement with existing users through vertical integration, like the Next Door Lending acquisition, offers a much higher return than simply growing top-of-funnel traffic. They confirmed this strategic shift does not alter their long-term revenue targets.

Justin Patterson inquired about the guardrails for performance marketing spend and asked how new products like NerdWallet+ are resonating with consumers.

Answer

CFO Lauren St. Waugh stated that the company's disciplined approach to performance marketing is unchanged, aiming for in-quarter profitability and incremental non-GAAP operating income, viewing it as a flexible lever to drive growth and registrations. CEO Tim Chen added that while it is early for new products like NerdWallet+, initial cohort data shows positive trends with user engagement surpassing that of typical registered users.

Justin Patterson of KeyBanc Capital Markets asked about the early learnings from the new 'Energy' feature, which reportedly improved revenue, DAUs, and time spent. He also inquired about the company's strategy to prevent user confusion as it expands from languages into other subjects like math, music, and chess.

Answer

CEO Luis von Ahn described the 'Energy' system as a successful replacement for the 'Hearts' mechanic for free users, acting as a 'carrot' by rewarding correct streaks rather than a 'stick' that penalizes mistakes. He confirmed it positively impacts bookings, DAUs, and user time spent. Regarding the multi-subject experience, von Ahn acknowledged it's a key focus. While not seeing significant user confusion yet, the company plans to improve the experience by making it easier to switch between subjects and offering rewards for multi-subject learning.

Justin Patterson from KeyBanc Capital Markets asked for insights from the new 'Energy' mechanic, which positively impacted multiple metrics, and questioned how Duolingo plans to prevent user confusion as it expands into more subjects like math, music, and chess.

Answer

CEO Luis von Ahn described the 'Energy' system as a successful replacement for 'Hearts,' shifting from a punitive model to a rewarding one. This change increased bookings, DAUs, and median time spent. Regarding the addition of new subjects, von Ahn acknowledged the challenge and stated the company is actively working on improving the multi-subject experience to make switching easier and more rewarding, though significant user confusion has not been observed yet.

Justin Patterson from KeyBanc Capital Markets questioned how faster-than-expected cost optimizations might influence Duolingo Max pricing and how the new 3D Lilly update could affect engagement and conversion.

Answer

CFO Matt Skaruppa clarified that cost optimizations are trending as expected, not necessarily faster. CEO Luis von Ahn added that while Max is still too expensive in markets like India, they are confident prices will come down in a few months. He believes the more engaging 3D Lilly will increase word-of-mouth and retention for the Max tier.

Justin Patterson asked how quickly Duolingo might pass AI-related cost savings back to users as inference costs drop, and what learnings have emerged about the proficiency of users engaging with Video Calls.

Answer

CEO Luis von Ahn stated that as AI costs decrease, features like 'Video Call' could potentially move to lower-priced tiers or even become partially free, contingent on A/B testing results. He emphasized that the company is very pleased with how the feature is improving its ability to teach conversation effectively, helping convert casual users to more advanced proficiency.

Justin Patterson asked about Duolingo's long-term strategy to grow its subscriber base from 10 million to the next 10 million, questioning whether the primary drivers would be expanding price tiers, increasing marketing, or monetizing new applications.

Answer

CEO Luis von Ahn Arellano explained that the core strategy is to continue growing the overall daily active user (DAU) base, as a consistent fraction of these users convert to subscribers. He highlighted two key monetization levers: standard improvements to the purchase funnel and the new Duolingo Max tier, which is expected to drive significant subscriber growth, particularly from English learners seeking conversation practice.

Justin Patterson asked how the $200 million investment in new businesses might scale into 2026 and questioned the role of performance marketing in augmenting brand campaigns.

Answer

CFO Ellie Mertz confirmed the $200 million is largely for headcount and that Airbnb will continue investing in these new businesses in 2026. She reiterated that performance marketing is used "surgically" to supplement the primary brand-focused strategy, leveraging the fact that 90% of traffic is direct or unpaid, which allows for lower performance marketing spend than competitors.

Justin Patterson asked about the behavioral differences between guests who book primarily through the mobile app versus those who use the web, specifically regarding frequency and repeat rates.

Answer

CFO Ellie Mertz explained that while the user demographics differ slightly, the key takeaway is that the app provides a much better user experience, leading to higher conversion rates compared to mobile web. The company has actively encouraged app usage, resulting in a dramatic increase in booking share on the app, which is additive to overall conversion.

Justin Patterson asked about the expected pace of product innovation with the new tech stack, inquiring about the friction points of the prior stack and how the new one will accelerate the execution of growth initiatives.

Answer

CEO Brian Chesky explained that the new tech stack, a project six years in the making, is now mostly complete and will lead to significantly higher product velocity. He noted that the throughput of features has already been increasing, and the new platform will allow fewer engineers to ship features faster, promising significantly more upgrades in the coming year.

Following the milestone of 2 billion guest arrivals, Justin Patterson asked about the key investments being made to attract the next billion guests. He also inquired about which demographics Airbnb currently under-indexes with and how new service releases will help capture them.

Answer

CEO Brian Chesky outlined a three-horizon growth strategy. In the short term, perfecting the core business through quality and affordability improvements. In the medium term, focusing on underpenetrated global markets like Brazil, Germany, and Japan. For the long term, expanding beyond accommodations by launching new, adjacent businesses annually, starting in May of next year, to significantly broaden the company's scope.

Justin Patterson inquired about the recently announced Connected TV (CTV) partnership with WPP Media, asking for the expected timeline to scale the channel and deliver value to advertisers.

Answer

CEO Michael Komasinski stated that Criteo is in the early stages of its CTV strategy but is gaining traction. He explained that the WPP Media partnership leverages Criteo's Commerce Grid SSP to create curated deal IDs, enabling commerce-first CTV campaigns on the DSP of the agency's choice. He expects the channel to continue ramping up and become a more meaningful part of the business mix heading into 2026.

Justin Patterson asked about the degree of flexibility in Criteo's expense management while continuing to invest for growth. He also inquired about CEO Michael Komasinski's strategic view on entering the Connected TV (CTV) advertising channel.

Answer

CFO Sarah Glickman explained that expense flexibility comes from slowing the hiring pace for discretionary roles and driving efficiency via self-service platforms like Commerce Go, while protecting high-ROI investments. CEO Michael Komasinski identified CTV as a key opportunity for full-funnel, measurable brand building and stated Criteo is in the early stages of assessing its approach. CPO Todd Parsons added that the company is actively testing CTV for both performance and upper-funnel advertising.

Justin Patterson posed a theoretical question about the potential impact on Criteo if Google were forced by regulators to divest its ad tech assets, such as AdX or DoubleClick for Publishers, specifically concerning access to supply and bid-winning capabilities.

Answer

CEO Megan Clarken stated it's difficult to speculate on a distant outcome but reiterated Criteo's support for a level playing field. Chief Product Officer Todd Parsons added that Criteo is prepared for any outcome due to its strong partnership with Google and observed that market uncertainty about Google is beneficial for Criteo, as it drives customer attention to their platform.

Justin Patterson asked for an update on the company's strategic opportunity in China, inquiring if the timeline or investment levels had changed for the year.

Answer

CEO Lisa Utzschneider stated that the China strategy is in its early days but progressing well. The company is alpha testing with luxury goods clients, has a strong pipeline of global brands, recently held a successful client event in Shanghai, and is investing in local headcount to support the initiative.

Justin Patterson asked how the new business pipeline for the current year compares to previous years, considering the introduction of more products and expanded social media capabilities.

Answer

CEO Lisa Utzschneider outlined a multi-pronged pipeline strategy focused on expanding reach. This includes cross-selling and upselling to the top 100 enterprise customers, making heavy investments to capture the 'green space' in the mid-market, and expanding into new and emerging international markets like China.

Speaking on behalf of Justin Patterson, an analyst asked for more detail on the company's current macro view and the decision to maintain full-year guidance out of prudence, despite not yet seeing any negative impact.

Answer

CFO Nicola Allais reiterated that the unchanged guidance is not based on current performance, which remained strong through April, but is a reflection of prudence given general macroeconomic uncertainty. She emphasized that the business's resilience is supported by the client shift towards performance-based products and new growth initiatives like social activation.

Justin Patterson asked how the Scibids business is trending against expectations and sought clarity on whether the full-year 33% adjusted EBITDA margin is a new baseline or if the company will reinvest back towards 30% in 2025.

Answer

CFO Nicola Allais stated that Scibids is performing ahead of expectations, pacing toward the high end of its annual revenue target with 40% YoY growth, and the company remains confident in its long-term $100 million goal. Regarding margins, she reiterated that the business is inherently profitable and scalable. While strategic investments will continue, she indicated that economies of scale will likely support continued margin strength.

Justin Patterson questioned what the next major product initiatives are for 2025 and 2026 aimed at reducing friction and increasing 'jobs done well.' He also asked how AI is expected to alter the product experience and introduce operating efficiencies.

Answer

CEO Jeffrey Kip outlined key initiatives, including refining job detail collection from homeowners and migrating all pros to a single, more flexible product platform, which is expected to improve matching and engagement. He mentioned that an LLM-based AI helper is already live in the homeowner path to improve match quality. Kip elaborated that AI is seen as a technology to enhance the experience everywhere, from online pro acquisition and customer care chatbots to improving the interaction between homeowners and pros, ultimately leading to smoother, higher-converting conversations.

Justin Patterson asked about the key learnings from the OpenAI partnership, broader AI opportunities across IAC's portfolio, and the potential impact of the Google DOJ trial on Dotdash Meredith.

Answer

Neil Vogel, CEO of DDM, described the OpenAI partnership as very positive and helpful for developing their own products like D/Cipher. Christopher Halpin, an IAC executive, noted AI is being applied across the portfolio in areas like smart matching at Care and Vivian and customer service. Regarding the DOJ trial, Vogel stated they are focused on building their own strong offerings and will not rely on regulatory outcomes, but will adapt to any market changes.

Justin Patterson asked about the key steps Dotdash Meredith is taking to grow traffic directly and 'eliminate the middleman,' and how these initiatives might alter the business's financial profile.

Answer

Christopher Halpin, an IAC executive, outlined a direct-to-consumer strategy focused on leveraging trusted brands through email, video, social media, and live events. He mentioned plans to roll out new products for the People and food brands to enhance loyalty and direct engagement. Halpin clarified that the monetization models for these initiatives are similar to existing ones and are viewed as advancing, not diluting, DDM's overall financial profile.

Speaking on behalf of Justin Patterson, an analyst from KeyBanc asked for early learnings from the new Universal Campaigns product and whether the Smart Shop tools have led to any observable changes in consumer behavior.

Answer

CEO Fidji Simo explained that while Universal Campaigns is still new, it is particularly beneficial for emerging brands by automatically optimizing spend across ad formats, with pilots showing strong new-to-brand sales. Regarding Smart Shop, she noted that enhanced personalization around dietary preferences makes the experience stickier and drives higher retention, especially for new users, by improving product discovery and relevance.

Jacob, on for Justin Patterson, asked how ZipRecruiter is viewing the return on its marketing spend under various potential hiring market scenarios, especially given the recent encouraging signals.

Answer

President David Travers explained that the company's marketing philosophy is strictly ROI-focused, evaluating investments based on long-term total return, brand impact, and cash-on-cash payback period. He noted that the decision to increase spend is a direct response to seeing improved returns across these metrics, as evidenced by trends like employer reactivations. The company maintains flexibility, with very little marketing spend committed far in advance, allowing for rapid adjustments to market conditions.

Justin Patterson asked about the Evergreen & Emerging (E&E) segment, specifically how close emerging brand growth is to offsetting evergreen declines and how high E&E margins could potentially go.

Answer

CFO Gary Swidler stated that the crossover point where emerging growth outpaces evergreen declines is expected sometime in 2025. He projected significant margin expansion for the segment, from the low 20s in 2023 to 'nicely north of 30%' by 2026, driven by cost efficiencies from consolidation efforts.