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A high Debt-to-EBITDA ratio generally means that a company may spend more time to paying off its debt. According to Joel Tillinghast's BIG MONEY THINKS SMALL: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing, a ratio of Debt-to-EBITDA exceeding four is usually considered scary unless tangible assets cover the debt.
The historical rank and industry rank for Direct Digital Holdings's Debt-to-EBITDA or its related term are showing as below:
DRCT'
s Debt-to-EBITDA Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -6.07 Med: 2.49 Max: 65.44
Current: -0.85
During the past 7 years, the highest Debt-to-EBITDA Ratio of Direct Digital Holdings was 65.44. The lowest was -6.07. And the median was 2.49.
DRCT's Debt-to-EBITDA is ranked worse than 100% of 677
companies
in the Media - Diversified industry
Industry Median: 1.66
vs DRCT: -0.85
Direct Digital Holdings (NAS:DRCT) Debt-to-EBITDA Explanation
A high Debt-to-EBITDA ratio generally means that a company may spend more time to paying off its debt.
According to Joel Tillinghast's BIG MONEY THINKS SMALL: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing, a ratio of Debt-to-EBITDA exceeding four is usually considered scary unless tangible assets cover the debt.
Direct Digital Holdings Debt-to-EBITDA Related Terms
Direct Digital Holdings Debt-to-EBITDA Historical Data
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
DRCT vs HAO, DBMM, CNET: Debt-to-EBITDA Comparison
For the Advertising Agencies subindustry, Direct Digital Holdings's Debt-to-EBITDA, along with its competitors' market caps and Debt-to-EBITDA data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Direct Digital Holdings Debt-to-EBITDA vs Media - Diversified Industry
For the Media - Diversified industry and Communication Services sector, Direct Digital Holdings's Debt-to-EBITDA distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Direct Digital Holdings's Debt-to-EBITDA falls into.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
In the calculation of annual Debt-to-EBITDA, the EBITDA of the last fiscal year is used. In calculating the annualized quarterly data,
the EBITDA data used here is four times the quarterly (Mar. 2026) EBITDA data.
Direct Digital Holdings (DRCT) has a Debt-to-EBITDA of -0.96 as of Mar. 2026. Debt-to-EBITDA ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. View historical data on Direct Digital Holdings. According to the industry distribution chart, Direct Digital Holdings ranks #999999 out of 677 companies in the Media - Diversified industry.
Is Direct Digital Holdings' Debt-to-EBITDA too high?
Direct Digital Holdings' current Debt-to-EBITDA is -0.96. Based on the distribution chart, Direct Digital Holdings ranks #999999 out of 677 companies in the Media - Diversified industry, which is in the bottom quartile relative to peers. Overall, Direct Digital Holdings has a GF Score™ of 43/100 and is considered Possible Value Trap, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Direct Digital Holdings' Debt-to-EBITDA compare to HAO and DBMM?
According to the Media - Diversified industry distribution chart, Direct Digital Holdings ranks #999999 out of 677 companies for Debt-to-EBITDA. This places Direct Digital Holdings in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Debt-to-EBITDA is 1.66. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Debt-to-EBITDA for a Media - Diversified company?
The median Debt-to-EBITDA among Media - Diversified companies is 1.66, based on 677 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Debt-to-EBITDA significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Debt-to-EBITDA should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Debt-to-EBITDA mean?
A high Debt-to-EBITDA can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Debt-to-EBITDA ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. View historical data on Direct Digital Holdings. For the Media - Diversified industry, the median Debt-to-EBITDA is 1.66 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Direct Digital Holdings's current Debt-to-EBITDA is -0.96. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Direct Digital Holdings stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Direct Digital Holdings (DRCT) is currently considered Possible Value Trap. The stock's GF Value™ is $20.34, compared to a current price of $2.53 — trading 87.6% below its estimated fair value. The current Debt-to-EBITDA is -0.96. Direct Digital Holdings' overall GF Score™ is 43/100 with 6 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Debt-to-EBITDA calculated?
Debt-to-EBITDA is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Direct Digital Holdings (DRCT), the current Debt-to-EBITDA is -0.96 as of Mar. 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is Direct Digital Holdings (DRCT) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Direct Digital Holdings stock appears to be undervalued.
The current stock price of $2.53 is trading 87.6% below its estimated GF Value™ of $20.34.
GuruFocus considers Direct Digital Holdings to be Possible Value Trap.
Key valuation signals for DRCT:
Debt-to-EBITDA: -0.96
GF Value™: $20.34 vs. price of $2.53 (87.6% below fair value)
No single metric tells the full story. See the DRCT stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Direct Digital Holdings Inc is an end-to-end, full-service programmatic advertising platform focused on providing advertising technology, data-driven campaign optimization, and other solutions to underserved and less efficient markets on both the buy-side and sell-side of the digital advertising ecosystem. The company operates two reportable segments: sell-side advertising, which includes the results of Colossus Media, and buy-side advertising, which includes the results of Orange 142 and Huddled Masses. All of the company's revenues are attributed to the United States.
43GF Score
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Debt-to-EBITDA is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.
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