• by Wayne Friedman , May 2, 2025

Streaming distributor Roku witnessed another strong business period -- up 16% in total revenue to $1.02 billion in the first quarter, in line with expectations.

Platform revenue -- which includes advertising business -- grew 17% higher to $881 million. Cash flow -- adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization -- was up 37% to $56 million.

In the first quarter, Roku says its advertising business “outperformed the U.S. OTT ad market and grew faster than overall Platform revenue.”

Roku says it is now in more than half of U.S. broadband households.

“They are doing an impressive job in driving engagement at The Roku Channel,” says Michael Nathanson, co-founder/media analyst of MoffettNathanson Research, in response.

“Tied to that acceleration in viewership, Roku is doing a much better job (thanks to new management) in driving monetization through as many open pipes as possible versus being tied to their own single, sub-scale DSP [demand-side platform].”

But there could be trouble ahead -- including potential tariff-related disruptions.

Brian Wieser, media analyst for Madison and Wall, says: “In the face of economic uncertainty, management noted that some marketers are operating on a shorter planning cycle (weekly in some cases, instead of quarterly) and opting for non-guaranteed commitments (via programmatic buys).”

“It’s not a surprise that advertisers (and companies in general) are more cautious in the midst of uncertainty related to tariffs and the U.S. economy. Jeffrey Wlodarczak, CEO/media analyst of Pivotal Research Group.

“This has driven advertisers to focus more on performance (which should be good for Roku) and shorter term (less lucrative) advertising buys.”

The company also announced a relatively small acquisition of skinny virtual pay TV network provider “Frndly TV” for $185 million. That service offers up to 50 channels including -- Hallmark, A&E and Lifetime -- that starts at $6.99 per month.

Roku stock closed down 1.3% on Thursday to $67.27.