$TTD · Trade Desk, Inc.

Trade Desk's board approved a performance-based stock option for CEO Jeff Green covering 7,000,000 shares of Class A Common Stock. The option has an exercise price of $14.97 (the September 14, 2026 closing price) and vests in seven tranches requiring the stock to sustain per-share prices from $18.00 to $105.00 over any 20-consecutive-trading-day period within a 10-year term. The first tranche of 1.2M shares vests at $18.00; the final 800K-share tranche requires $105.00.

Stock closed at $14.97, up 4.39% on the day and +1.05% since the filing hit. The market appears to interpret the aggressive $18–$105 price-target structure as a strong alignment signal from a founder-CEO, though the 7M-share overhang (~1.4% of $7.04B market cap) may draw dilution concerns over time.

A 7M-share performance grant with a $105 top tranche — roughly 7x the current price — signals the board's extreme conviction in long-term upside and ties the founder-CEO's wealth entirely to stock-价格.

Performance-based mega-grants with multi-bagger strike targets are a hallmark of founder-led ad-tech and enterprise software companies seeking to retain visionary CEOs without burning cash compensation. The structure mirrors similar awards at firms like Tesla and Palantir.

The 7M-share grant represents potential dilution; if all tranches vest, the option covers shares worth up to $735M at the $105 target. A material financial restatement during the option period could trigger clawback of vested shares if tied to CEO gross misconduct.