Roku Beats Q3 Revenue Forecast as Net Loss Grows, Remains Cautious About ‘Uneven Ad Market Recovery’

variety.com:

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Roku shares rose after the streaming-platform company beat Wall Street expectations for the third quarter of 2023 on the top line.

But in providing forward-looking guidance, Roku told investors that the macroeconomic environment remains “uncertain.” The company reported Q3 revenue of $912 million, up 20%, and a net loss of $330 million (or $2.33 per share) — more than double the net loss of $122 million in the year-ago period.

Wall Street analysts on average expected revenue of $853.2 million and a net loss of $2.08 per share, per Refinitiv data. Shares of Roku were up more than 10% in after-hours trading on the earnings report. “We had a solid rebound in video ads in Q3 and we expect the YoY growth rate of video ads in Q4 to be similar,” the company said in its shareholder letter. “However, we remain cautious amid an uncertain macro environment and an uneven ad market recovery.” In addition, Roku said, it will face difficult year-over-year growth rate comparisons in content distribution and media and entertainment marketing spending “which will challenge the YoY growth rate of platform revenue in Q4.” For Q4, Roku provided guidance of revenue of $955 million (which would be up 10% versus the year-earlier quarter) and a net loss of $85 million.

The company took a $62 million write-down on content in Q3, cutting into its bottom line, after it removed content from the Roku Channel to reduce costs.