Why More Investors Are Tuning In to Roku

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 11, 10:58AM EST · Published Feb 22, 8:30AM EST

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Why More Investors Are Tuning In to Roku — © Courtesy of Roku

When Roku Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) released fourth-quarter financial results after markets closed Thursday, the company said that it had $0.05 in earnings per share (EPS) and $275.7 million in revenue. The consensus estimates had called for $0.03 in EPS and revenue of $262.11 million, and in the same period of last year, Roku posted EPS of $0.08 on $188.26 million in revenue.

In the most recent quarter, active accounts increased 40% year over year to a total of 27.1 million. Streaming hours were up 69% to 7.3 billion.

Average revenue per user increased 30% year over year to $17.95, on a trailing 12-month basis.

In terms of its segment revenue, the company reported that it had $151.4 million in platform revenue, a 77% increase, and $124.3 million in player revenue, a 21% increase from last year.

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Looking ahead to the full year, the company expects to reach $1 billion in revenues, or roughly 36% year over year growth, with gross profit growing 36% as well. Consensus estimates call for a net loss of $0.25 per share and $985.24 million in revenue for the year.

Anthony Wood, founder and CEO, commented:

2018 was an excellent year for Roku, with record results and solid progress towards our long-term vision of powering every TV in the world. As more than 3 million U.S. households cut the cord, Roku added nearly 8 million active accounts in 2018, increasing our total active accounts to more than 27 million at year end. We estimate that nearly 1 in 5 U.S. TV households now use the Roku platform to stream at least a portion of their TV viewing. While our growth has been impressive, we believe we are still only beginning to capitalize on the large opportunity streaming presents. We expect to reach $1 billion in revenue in 2019, by focusing on these key areas: increasing monetization per user and scaling the number of households using the Roku platform. With our fundamental strategic advantages and continued strong execution, we believe we are well positioned to deliver another excellent year.

Shares of Roku closed Thursday at $51.48, in a 52-week range of $26.30 to $77.57. The stock has a consensus price target of $56.62. Following the announcement, the stock was up about 6% at $54.60 in early trading indications Friday.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.