Roku Surged in 2020 Too

Roku earned a gross profit of $808 million on revenues of $1.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, thanks largely to pandemic-based usage gains.

“Roku had both a strong Q4 and 2020,” a letter to Roku shareholders reads. “For both periods we achieved record revenue, gross profit[,] and [financial performance], as consumers and the TV industry continued to shift to streaming.”

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For the full year, Roku streaming player unit sales grew 28 percent, and the firm had 51.2 million active accounts in the fourth quarter of 2020, up 14.3 million from the previous sequential quarter. Streaming hours were up 20.9 billion hours year-over-year to a record 58.7 billion hours. And average revenue per user grew $5.62 YOY to $28.76.

Roku reports that this growth was driven by the popularity of its streaming players and Roku TV models, the latter of which was the best-selling smart TV system in the U.S. with 38 percent marketshare. Revenues from advertising also doubled in 2020, Roku says.

Looking ahead, Roku sees volatility in 2021 as vaccine rollouts compete with new COVID-19 variants and things possibly return as much as possible to normal. Overall, it expects year-over-year comparisons to be unfavorably skewed because of the abnormally positive results in 2020.

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Conversation 10 comments

  • Greg Green

    19 February, 2021 - 10:49 am

    <p>Funny how tv devices seems to have soared but at least in the US sports viewing was down. Auto Racing, except for the Daytona 500, was the only sport that seems to have grown.</p>

    • red.radar

      Premium Member
      21 February, 2021 - 3:57 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#614210">In reply to Greg Green:</a></em></blockquote><p>Pandemic I am sure was a big factor. Most leagues were delayed and on modified schedules. Some events were completely canceled. NCAA Basketball tournament and College World series being examples that come to mind. </p><p><br></p><p>The 2020 Daytona 500 was also red flagged due to weather. </p>

  • remc86007

    19 February, 2021 - 12:55 pm

    <p>Roku is one of those companies that I don't personally have any use for, but I'm sure glad they are around. It's a pleasant surprise that they haven't sold out to Amazon, Netflix, Google or Apple. I think it's really important that we have as many independent tech firms as possible to drive innovation.</p>

  • illuminated

    19 February, 2021 - 4:38 pm

    <p>Roku devices are fantastic for cable-cutters. They have devices from cheapest sticks to more expensive boxes which is pretty nice. All my TVs have Roku devices connected to them. I also like the fact that Roku is still a tech company and not an adtech or spyware outfit. There is no danger at least in the short term that they would discontinue devices or push users into some sort of subscription scheme. </p>

  • ronv42

    Premium Member
    19 February, 2021 - 5:00 pm

    <p>I installed Roku's on a the TV's in my mom's house. She now only has to worry about 1 user interface vs. each TV manufactures implementation of menus and services. She finds the voice remote easy to use and the menu system simple but very functional.</p>

  • basic sandbox

    20 February, 2021 - 12:37 pm

    <p>The Roku simplicity is appreciated. Simple remote, simple UI, simple navigation. The Roku designers get that less can be more.</p>

  • harmjr

    Premium Member
    20 February, 2021 - 1:35 pm

    <p>I have had a bad experience with the apps on my Samsung TV so I have switched to Roku for them now. Very happy. Will be buying another Roku this year for my bedroom TV. I like the classic Roku UI. My biggest complaint is the remote needs to light up. </p>

  • erichk

    Premium Member
    21 February, 2021 - 10:57 am

    <p>I have a Roku 3 but am tempted to sell it. My TV is smart, and I have an Xbox Series S and an Nvidia Shield so I'm covered.</p><p><br></p><p>But would it be worth it? They're not going for much on eBay. I guess I could get a tank of gas for it.</p>

  • eric_rasmussen

    Premium Member
    22 February, 2021 - 10:42 am

    <p>I have a couple of Roku TVs from Sharp and TCL, they work great. For the other TVs in the house I have standalone Roku devices. They are more feature-rich than other smart TV implementations and I can write my own Roku apps pretty easily. My only wish is that the main interface was more like Windows Media Center, but I'm weird so it's probably good that's not the way it is. ?</p>

  • glenn8878

    22 February, 2021 - 11:33 am

    <p>Roku is outsider of the fight between Amazon, Google, and Apple. Roku offers the widest range of apps and services.</p>

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