Last Thursday, Google delayed the plan to remove third-party tracking cookies — the tool advertisers use to send you targeted ads. 

Adtech stocks jump on the news with adtech giant, TradeDesk (NASDAQ:TTD), rising over 20% since the announcement.

What’s the big deal?  In early 2020, Google sent the ad industry into panic with the initial announcement of its “death to cookies” plan — impacting an entire industry relying on the tool to display ads. Google Chrome controls 65% of the internet browser market and without third-party cookies, the industry could be in for:

• Lost sales from adtech platforms — the middleman between advertisers and publishers (i.e. websites).
• Lower ad performance from advertisers — meaning ad dollars might move to other platforms (i.e. Google).

Far from over: The release is only delayed from 2022 to 2023 — giving adtechs another year to figure out a solution. Companies like Adobe and TradeDesk are building their own tools to replace the third-party cookie Whether or not the solution actually works and will be adopted is another question.

Investors: Adtechs took investors for a ride in the past year. After a hot 2020, TradeDesk shot up 184% but fell nearly 50% from its peak in December. After the recent announcement, the stock recovered its 2021 losses. But the volatility might not be over yet:

• Google’s threat is still looming and without another alternative, time is running out for the ad industry.
• UK regulators are investigating whether Google’s decision could harm the competition in the online advertising industry.

In focus: The Smartetfs Advertising & Marketing Technology ETF (NYSE:MRAD) invests in companies benefiting from the disruption in the advertising and marketing industry.

• Top US holdings: Hubspot (NASDAQ:HUBS), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), TechTarget (NASDAQ:TTGT).

Dive Deeper into how the third-party cookie will change the advertising industry.