• by Wayne Friedman , April 25, 2024

Roku posted strong double-digit-percentage first-quarter revenue, with improvements in its gross profit and streaming households year-over-year.

Roku's after-Thursday market stock price initially rose sharply -- up 6% to $66.30 -- and then turned negative, down 5%. 

Streaming households at Roku were up 14% (1.6 million homes) from the fourth quarter of 2023 to now total 81.6 million. 

Streaming hours grew 23% (5.7 billion hours) to 30.8 billion, with streaming households per hour now at 4.2 hours a day -- up from 3.9 hours for the same period a year ago.

Platform revenue -- largely due to direct and programmatic video advertising -- was down 9% ($828.9 million) to $754.9 million from the previous fourth quarter, but 19% higher year-over-year.

Roku says year-over-year advertising growth was driven by higher consumer packaged goods and retail brands, with automotive and insurance remaining “challenged”.

Overall revenue (platform and device revenue) grew 19% to $881.5 million. 

Roku dramatically lowered its net loss from operations to $72 million -- exceeding expectations, which came in at $212.5 million in the first quarter of 2023 and $104.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Gross profit grew 15% to $388.3 million. Average revenue per user (ARPU) was flat at $40.65.