PREVIEW: Trade Desk dips; focus on ad spending

** The Trade Desk's TTD.O shares dipping 1.6% on Thurs ahead of qtrly results after the bell, as investors watch for signs of continued ad demand
** Analysts expect qtrly rev up 17% to $685.3 mln and adj EPS at $0.40 vs $0.39 yr-ago, per LSEG data; report follows last qtr's beat driven by strong demand for automated ad-buying tech

** On Tues, social media platform Snap SNAP.N reported its slowest quarterly growth in over a year, hurt by a glitch in its ad platform and advertiser preferences for Meta Platforms META.O and other large rivals

** TTD stock has sunk about 25% YTD, lagging the Nasdaq .IXIC, which is up 10%
** Stock recently at 45x expected earnings, well below 5-yr avg forward PE of 73, per LSEG