By George Glover
Roku underlined its status as a potential streaming wars winner by beating on first-quarter earnings and raising its guidance, sending its shares sharply higher ahead of Friday's opening bell.
The stock jumped 7.8% to $125.63 in premarket trading. Futures tracking the S&P 500 were 0.1% higher.
Roku makes streaming devices and licenses its operating system to TV makers. Deals with major streaming platforms including Apple TV and Peacock boosted subscription revenue over the first quarter, Morningstar analyst Matthew Dolgin noted.
"As the firm extends its leading connected TV platform, it becomes more difficult for any competitor to displace Roku's place in the streaming ecosystem," Dolgin said in a research note, raising his price target to $95 from $85.
For the first quarter, Roku reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) of $148 million, as revenue jumped 22% from a year ago to $1.25 billion. Analysts were expecting Ebitda of $131 million on revenue of $1.20 billion, according to a FactSet poll.
For the full year, Roku expects Ebitda of $675 million on revenue of $5.54 billion. Wall Street was forecasting Ebitda of $644 million on revenue of $5.51 billion ahead of the earnings report.
Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com
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May 01, 2026 05:01 ET (09:01 GMT)
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