2 Struggling Stocks That Aren't Worth Buying on the Dip

Buying stocks that are declining can sometimes lead to impressive gains later. But if the stocks are falling for justifiable reasons, you may simply be setting yourself up for losses instead.

A couple of stocks that have lost more than half of their value in the past 12 months that I wouldn't take a chance on right now are C3.ai (NYSE: AI) and The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD).

Here's why these stocks may fall even further in value this year.

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C3.ai

Shares of tech company C3.ai are down 61% over the past year. The artificial intelligence (AI) company's results haven't lived up to expectations, and it has recently changed CEOs, with Stephen Ehikian taking over from longtime CEO and founder Thomas Siebel.

Despite the excitement around AI, the company has struggled to generate positive growth of late. Over the six-month period ending Oct. 31, 2025, the company's total revenue declined by 20% to $145.4 million. Meanwhile, on the bottom line, its losses have grown larger, stretching from $128.8 million over the past two quarters to $221.4 million.

C3.ai has a lot to prove. Despite offering more than 130 turnkey enterprise AI solutions, the growth simply hasn't been there. Until that changes, I'd avoid the stock -- regardless of how much it comes down in value.

The Trade Desk

A stock that's been doing even worse than C3.ai is The Trade Desk, which has fallen a staggering 72% over the same period. The company operates in a highly competitive area of adtech, with customers potentially pulling back on ad spend amid growing economic uncertainty.

There's also been some recent volatility in management. On Jan. 26, the company announced that Tahnil Davis would be taking over as the company's interim chief financial officer. Back in August of last year, the company appointed Alex Kayyal as its new CFO, taking over from Laura Schenkein. The volatility and question marks led to yet another sell-off of the stock.

Another problem is that the company's growth rate has been declining (going from 27% to 18% in its most recent quarter), and that's particularly problematic for a stock that's valued highly for its growth. Despite its mammoth decline over the past 12 months, the stock still trades at close to 40 times its trailing earnings, which may be too expensive for most investors given all the uncertainty around the business.

The recent instability in management simply reinforces the need to take a wait-and-see approach with this stock. Although it's down significantly, there's no guarantee that it can't go even lower.

David Jagielski, CPA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends The Trade Desk. The Motley Fool recommends C3.ai. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.