Roku Sees Soaring Sales, Net Income of $183M, As It Blasts Past Analyst Expectations

Roku blew past third-quarter earnings expectations as it gears up for its pending acquisition by Fox.

The streaming platform reported net revenue of $1.5 billion, up 24 percent year-over-year and above analyst expectations of $1.41 billion. The company said the third quarter was the highest year-over-year revenue growth for its media and entertainment vertical in four years “as media companies invested on the Roku platform to promote their content and services.”

Net income was $183 million, up an eye-popping 639 percent from a year earlier, which translates to diluted earnings per share of $1.20. Analysts had predicted earnings per share of $0.55, according to the Zaks consensus.

Platform revenue was $1.3 billion, up 34 percent year-over-year, driven by increases in both advertising and subscriptions. Streaming hours were 39.9 billion, up 9 percent.

Advertising revenue grew 23 percent year-over-year to $727 million, marking Roku’s ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. This was helped by a shift to higher margin ad products, as well as strong results in political advertising. Roku said political advertising on the platform in the third quarter exceeded the comparable quarter from the 2024 U.S. presidential election cycle.

Subscriptions revenue also grew 23 percent year-over-year to $581 million, with gross margin of 40.9 percent, down roughly 180 basis points due to a “strategic mix shift toward premium subscriptions.” Overall revenue grew as Roku pointed to its completed rollout of the new U.S. home screen, which has improved content recommendations.

“One early result we are seeing is a reduction in Premium Subscription cancellations,” the Roku shareholder letter reads. The company is now rolling out the new home screen to international markets.

The earnings come after Fox announced in June an agreement to acquire Roku for $160 per share in a cash and Fox Class A common stock transaction valuing Roku at $22 billion. The deal, which combines Fox’s sports, news and entertainment content and the Tubi streaming service with Roku’s connected TV platform, The Roku Channel and more, follows a strategic review by Roku, which chose Fox as the preferred bidder.

In June, Roku CEO Anthony Wood called the deal a “great price.” “Put simply, it’s the best way to accelerate our long-term strategy and continue shaping the future of television,” he said at the time.

Fox reported earnings Monday, with CEO Lachlan Murdoch saying Fox is working “constructively” with the Department of Justice to close its deal for Roku. The transaction has already been approved by shareholders and foreign regulatory bodies.

Due to the pending transaction, Roku said it would not provide a financial outlook, nor did it host an earnings call Monday. The company also did not provide a financial outlook last quarter.

“We remain on track for the second-half 2026 forecast we provided in the proxy statement, and our pending acquisition by Fox is an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate our vision, allowing us to scale faster and innovate more aggressively for viewers, partners and advertisers,” Wood said in the letter.