Roku (ROKU) 34th Annual Media, Internet & Telecom Conference summary

Strategic initiatives and financial performance

• Cost structure was right-sized in 2023, enabling a pivot to platform monetization in 2024, focusing on subscriptions and advertising.

• Platform revenue grew 18% in 2025, driven by execution on monetization initiatives and leveraging nearly 100 million streaming households.

• Subscriptions grew 25% in 2025, aided by the Frndly acquisition, while advertising grew 13% (19% excluding political comps), both outpacing the broader CTV ad market.

• EBITDA margins improved by 250 basis points in 2025, with guidance for further expansion in 2026, supported by mid-single digit OpEx growth and targeted investments.

• Free cash flow is strong, with a target of $1 billion by 2028, and ongoing share buybacks to offset dilution.

Monetization, product, and market expansion

• New disclosure will break out platform revenue into advertising and subscriptions, with historicals and margin structures provided starting Q1.

• Premium subscriptions, including new tier-one partners like HBO and Apple TV, are driving growth and expanding internationally.

• Owned and operated subscriptions (Howdy, Frndly) benefit from low-cost marketing via platform control and are expanding off-platform and internationally.

• Home screen redesign introduces new ad units and personalized content rows, aiming for long-term engagement and monetization, with a gradual rollout based on user feedback.

• International monetization is progressing, with Mexico focused on subscriptions, Canada on both ads and subscriptions, and Brazil building scale for future monetization.

Advertising, technology, and distribution strategy

• CTV ad budgets are shifting from linear, with CTV now a $33B+ and growing market; performance-based ad products and SMB self-service tools are key growth drivers.

• Shift from a closed DSP model to open integration with all major DSPs (including Amazon, The Trade Desk) has increased demand without margin degradation.

• Ads Manager and GenAI tools have removed barriers for SMB advertisers, with 90% of advertisers new to the platform and significant opportunity for further growth.

• Distribution strategy is diversified across retailers (Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Amazon) and OEMs (TCL, Hisense), leveraging Roku OS's low BOM cost and expanding first-party TVs.

• AI is embedded across operations, advertising, and content, driving efficiency, performance, and engagement, and is seen as a durable competitive advantage.