AI Stocks: A Mildly Annoying Opportunity

A Perfectly Acceptable Ad Platform, I Guess

The Trade Desk does adtech, which means they help people shove commercials in your face more efficiently. They claim to use AI to evaluate ad impressions. AI! As if that makes it any better. It’s still an ad. They don’t own any media, which is…fine, I suppose. It means they’re not biased towards their own stuff. Unlike Google or Amazon, who clearly want you to watch their videos or buy their…everything. It’s the principle of the thing. But then they’re bragging about publishers sharing data with them? That feels…wrong. Like they’re trading information. And then they call it the “open internet”? What does that even mean? It’s just the internet. It’s all just…layers of obfuscation.

Apparently, they’re big in connected TV. Which means more ads while you’re trying to relax. The stock is down 80% from its high, which, frankly, seems reasonable. People are finally realizing that generative AI isn’t going to magically fix everything. But analysts think it’s “oversold”? That’s just…optimistic. Earnings are expected to grow at 13% annually. 13%! It’s not exactly a revolution. But at 15 times earnings, it’s…not terrible. Still, 196% upside? I remain skeptical. The median target price is $50. 100% upside. It’s…fine. It’s just…a lot of pressure.

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Datadog: Another Platform, Another Subscription

Datadog does observability and security software. Which, as far as I can tell, means they monitor your computer and tell you when it’s broken. They have an AI engine called Watchdog. Watchdog! Like I need another thing watching me. It unifies signals from your entire tech stack. What’s a tech stack? It’s just…a lot of jargon. Gartner and Forrester both say they’re “leaders” in their respective fields. Leaders! Everyone’s a leader these days. Morgan Stanley says they’ve been gaining market share. Gaining market share! It’s like they’re playing a game.

They had 20% earnings growth in the fourth quarter. Which sounds good, until you realize the valuation is 60 times earnings. 60 times! That’s…excessive. They’re spending a lot on R&D. R&D! As if that justifies it. But they claim it will accelerate future growth. It always does. They’re introducing AI agents to automate incident resolution. AI agents! It’s a slippery slope. The median target price is $180. 50% upside. It’s…acceptable. I guess. But I wouldn’t go all-in. It just feels…precarious.

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2026-02-18 12:12