Roku Has Become One of the Biggest Regrets for Some Traders

As more consumers shift away from cable television, Roku shares continue to sail higher and have left many traders wishing they had invested at the start.

Roku has been exploding since its initial public offering (IPO) in September of 2017. The stock made its debut with an opening price of $15.78 and went on to close at $23.50 that day. Shares have hit over $170 a share in the past year.

Considering that today Roku shares hover around $130, that opening price has proven to be a worthwhile investment for those who jumped in early.

With more people cutting the cord and opting for streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV+, and Disney+, Roku’s platform has added millions of customers.

The company recently reported fourth quarter financial results revealing that it had added 4.6 million new customers over the December quarter. For the quarter, Roku reported revenues of $411.2 million, a jump of 49% and ahead of the $392 million that was expected.

Retail sales were up 33 percent and total streaming hours up 60 percent compared to the same period last year. Roku has said that we’re now in the “streaming decade.”

CEO Anthony Wood said on the earnings call, “In Q4, we exceeded our outlook for revenue, gross profit, and EBITDA. Moreover, 2019 was a tremendous year, both for the streaming industry and for Roku. Our revenue tops $1.1 billion and our customer stream roughly 40 billion hours. In only two years, we’ve doubled our topline and increased streaming hours by 170%.”

He added, “Streaming has come a long way in the last decade. 10 years ago, Netflix was about all I could stream on my TV and in fairly low resolution. But recently, I enjoy streaming the Super Bowl in brilliant 4k via Fox Sports on my quantum Roku TV with my Roku wireless speakers and subwoofer. In fact, streaming is often the easiest and sometimes the only way for people to watch in 4k.”

Sources:

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/28/roku-ipo-roku-stock-price-on-opening-trade.html

https://www.thestreet.com/investing/roku-surges-as-disney-apple-launches-drive-solid-q4-gains

https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2020/02/14/roku-inc-roku-q4-2019-earnings-call-transcript.aspx