Roku delivered a strong set of fourth-quarter results, including crossing the $1 billion threshold in platform revenue.
The streaming giant ended the quarter on December 31 with 89.8 million streaming households, surpassing 90 million in January, and also drew 34.1 billion streaming hours in the quarter. Both metrics were up double digits from the same period a year earlier.
Total revenue of $1.2 billion increased 22% from a year ago, nipping Wall Street analysts’ consensus estimate for $1.15 billion. The company’s net loss per share of 22 cents was far better than the consensus outlook for a loss of 43 cents.
Investors hailed the quarterly numbers, sending shares up 13% in after-hours trading. Roku stock has climbed 17% in 2024 to date.
The platform tally of $1.035 billion, which includes advertising revenue, rose 25% over the year-ago period. While political ads were a boon to all sellers in the quarter, Roku noted that just 6% of its platform revenue was from the category. Not counting political revenue, platform revenue still grew 15% over last year’s quarter.
Platform gross margins of 54.1% in the quarter and 53.5% for all of 2024 exceeded internal quarterly projections, with the company attributing the outperformance to “a positive mix shift in activities.”
Streaming hours on the Roku Channel, a free service routinely ranked among the top streaming outlets by Nielsen, soared 82% over a year ago. A broad lineup of programming was credited as fueling the increase, along with “our ability to recommend relevant content throughout the Roku Experience,” the company wrote in its quarterly letter to shareholders, alluding to its set of product features designed to appeal to viewers and advertisers.
MORE to come …
