3 Charts Tell the Entire (Magnificent) Roku Story

You've certainly heard of Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU). You may even know it's the leader of the United States' connected TV/streaming device market. What you may not fully appreciate, however, is just how well the company's doing now that the streaming-television market has reached critical mass. Only a few pictures can fully put its past and present growth into the proper perspective.

Here's a look at those pictures.

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Pictures don't lie

Roku makes technology that allows your TV set to play on-demand streaming content. It competes with Alphabet's Google Chromecast, Apple's Apple TV, and Amazon's Fire, among others. Much of this tech is now built into televisions, of course, but Roku still monetizes these TVs by virtue of a license to use its software and platform.

However, Roku's big moneymaker isn't hardware or software. Rather, its chief profit center is serving as a streaming middleman, connecting viewers with their favorite content from the likes of Netflix, Walt Disney, and others. Of last quarter's $1.2 billion in revenue, a little over $1 billion of it was "platform" revenue driven by advertising, promotion of streaming services, and simply allowing streaming companies to deliver their content through a Roku device. Its platform arm is also operationally profitable, whereas its much smaller player business -- which is only a means to a bigger end -- remains in the red.

The thing is, this business model works. Like, really, really works. And increasingly so.

Our first chart at least begins to flesh out this idea. As it illustrates, the total number of households using at least one Roku device continues to grow, pumping up the total number of hours of streaming content they view through its tech. What's arguably most impressive, however, is that the company hasn't needed to accept increasingly less revenue per user to win this growth. Its average revenue per user (or ARPU) is holding steady at just above $41 per year, after a slight-but-expected lull from 2022's pandemic-prompted peak.

Data source: Roku Inc. Chart by author.

In simplest terms, the above chart says that Roku holds about as much pricing power as it ever has, despite the increasingly saturated and competitive streaming market.

In this same vein, the company isn't just shelling out a ton of money to drive revenue growth and maintain ARPU levels. It's spending thoughtfully, and effectively. As the chart below shows, after a spending spree in 2022 and a single quarterly spending surge in 2023, outlays on marketing, research and development, and administration are growing at a slower pace than revenue is. This ultimately points to sustainability of its business.

Data source: Roku Inc. Chart by author. Numbers are in millions.

Finally -- and as the chart above would imply -- we're seeing progress on the profit front. Although EBITDA is now barely in the black and the company's still operationally in the red, Roku's fiscal viability is in sight, and within reach.

Data source: Roku Inc. Chart by author. Numbers are in millions.

For what it's worth, the analyst community expects the company to swing to an actual full-year profit next year. Unlike 2021's move into the black, however, Roku's current fiscal trajectory suggests that this one's apt to become permanent, with margins continuing to widen indefinitely thereafter.

In the right place at the right time with the right product

But how do we know Roku will achieve the long-awaited feat? Well, certainly nothing is ever outright guaranteed. Something unexpected can always surface to derail a trend.

That's seemingly a less likely scenario, though, in light of Roku's important position as a middleman within the ever-growing streaming industry.

Think about it. This stock is often grouped with streaming service providers like the aforementioned Netflix and Walt Disney. But there are significant and meaningful differences. Netflix, Disney+, HBO's Max, Paramount's Paramount+ and a slew of other streamers are competing with one another in what's become a brutal spending and price war. Roku doesn't compete with these streaming brands, though. If anything, it benefits from their ongoing proliferation driven by the affordability of their services.

As much as the entire streaming business has already grown, there's much more ahead. Market research outfit Precedence Research believes the global streaming industry is set to grow at an average annualized pace of nearly 21% through 2034, led by the North American sliver of the market, where Roku's tech is currently the single most popular option.

This tailwind, of course, bodes well for current and would-be Roku shareholders waiting to see a swing to profitability. Interested investors might not want to wait until that actually happens before wading in. Its current pace of fiscal progress is likely to continue supporting the stock's bigger-picture gains in the interim.

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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Roku, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.