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☆ Jim Cramer says Roku getting serious about turning a profit is good news for the stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | In Kevinstankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A video sign displays the logo for Roku Inc, a Fox-backed video streaming firm, in Times Square after the company's IPO at the Nasdaq Market in New York, September 28, 2017. Roku 's (ROKU) latest cost-cutting measures should attract additional investors to the streaming-device maker's stock, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Wednesday. But, in a securities filing Wednesday, Roku said it was laying off about 10% of its workforce, consolidating office space and removing some existing content from its own streaming service. The company said it will book restructuring and impairment charges related to these moves. Shares of Roku surged more than 7% on Wednesday, to over $90 each.

Persons: Roku, Jim Cramer, Cramer Organizations: Roku Inc, Fox, Nasdaq, Investors Locations: New York

☆ Wall St Week Ahead Hopes of 'Goldilocks' economy, rate peak buoy US stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( David Randall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The S&P 500 is up nearly 19% this year after gaining around 1% in the past week. At the same time, investors believe the Fed is unlikely to deliver much more of the monetary policy tightening that shook markets last year. A test of the economy comes next week, when the U.S. reports employment numbers for July. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 is up nearly 44% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 information technology sector has gained nearly 46%. The S&P 500 tech sector now trades at 28.2 times forward earnings, from 19.6 at the start of the year.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Jerome Powell, Bob Kalman, Torsten Slok, Burns McKinney, Randy Frederick, wouldn't, David Randall, Ira Iosebashvili, Deepa Babington Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Federal, Miramar Capital, Apollo Global Management, Meta, Roku Inc, NJF Investment Group, Apple, Microsoft, Schwab Center, Financial Research, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Miramar

☆ Roku shares set for biggest daily percentage gain in four years
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Caroline Valetkevitch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, July 28 (Reuters) - Shares of video streaming company Roku Inc (ROKU.O) jumped 25% on Friday and were on track for their biggest daily percentage gain since May 2019 after the streaming device maker gave an upbeat quarterly revenue forecast. Roku's stock was last up 25.3% at $85.45 in afternoon trading and has more than doubled so far this year. Meta shares were up about 4% on Friday while Alphabet was up about 3%, helping to drive a roughly 1% gain in the S&P 500 index (.SPX). Several brokerages raised their price targets on Roku after the news, including D.A. Roku said it added 1.9 million "active accounts" from the previous quarter to now reach 73.5 million.

Persons: Roku's, Davidson, OTT, Roku, Caroline Valetkevitch, Lance Tupper, Susan Heavey Organizations: YORK, Roku Inc, Meta, D.A, Thomson

☆ Roku shares notch biggest daily percentage gain in four years
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Caroline Valetkevitch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, July 28 (Reuters) - Shares of video streaming company Roku Inc (ROKU.O) jumped about 25% on Friday and were on track for their biggest daily percentage gain since May 2019 after the streaming device maker gave an upbeat quarterly revenue forecast. Roku's stock was last up 25.1% at $85.31 in midday trading and has more than doubled so far this year. Meta shares were up about 4% on Friday while Alphabet was up about 3%, helping to drive a roughly 1% gain in the S&P 500 index (.SPX). Several brokerages raised their price targets on Roku after the news, including D.A. Roku said it added 1.9 million "active accounts" from the previous quarter to now reach 73.5 million.

Persons: Davidson, OTT, Roku, Caroline Valetkevitch, Lance Tupper, Susan Heavey Organizations: YORK, Roku Inc, Meta, D.A, Thomson

☆ Retail investors slow to buy into ARK Innovation Fund's blistering rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( David Randall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, June 21(Reuters) - Individual investors have given a cold shoulder to Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation Fund during their searing run this year, but some market watchers believe that may change if risk appetite keeps improving. The $8 billion fund, which outperformed all U.S. equity funds during the pandemic rally of 2020 but suffered a steep fall last year, is up nearly 37% year-to-date, outpacing broader markets. ARK Invest, the fund's parent company, did not respond to a request for comment. Domestic equity funds and ETFs posted a total of $151.3 billion in outflows year to date through June 7th, according to data from trade group the Investment Company Institute. Optimism among individual investors vaulted to a 19-month high in the latest American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) Sentiment Survey.

Persons: Todd Rosenbluth, Rosenbluth, Virag Shah, Van, Morgan Stanley, Shah, David Randall, Ira Iosebashvili, David Gregorio Our Organizations: YORK, Innovation Fund, Invest, Investment Company Institute, Van Leeuwen & Company, American, of, Tesla, Roku Inc, Sciences, Thomson Locations: Van Leeuwen

☆ Measurement Messiness Complicates TV’s Annual Sales Season
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Megan Graham | Patrick Coffee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel hosted Disney’s annual presentation to ad buyers last May. Photo: Disney General EntertainmentMedia companies are preparing to spotlight their buzziest television shows at the TV industry’s annual advance-sales presentations to advertisers, but marketers may be more preoccupied with measuring how many people watch and how to translate that into deals. Veteran players like Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal and newer platforms such as Netflix Inc. will try to win over ad buyers during star-studded “upfront” pitches in mid-May at New York City venues including Radio City Music Hall and the Paris Theater. Before that, tech players including Amazon.com Inc., Snap Inc. and Roku Inc. will kick off the selling season with their so-called NewFronts events this week.

☆ Morning Bid: Wowed by tech, worried by banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

That makes investors wary of such provisions at the likes of HSBC (HSBA.L), Lloyds (LLOY.L) and NatWest Group (NWG.L), all of which are due to report earnings in the coming weeks. Across the Atlantic, First Republic Bank's (FRC.N) plunging deposits and tumbling shares are rippling through the U.S. regional banking sector. U.S. recession fears have also resurfaced after consumer confidence hit a nine-month low, alongside some weak earnings. In a week packed with tech sector earnings, the focus moves from artificial intelligence to advertising revenues as Facebook-parent Meta Platforms (META.O) and streaming device maker Roku Inc (ROKU.O) report. Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday:U.S. durable goods orders, Germany and France consumer confidenceEarnings: Meta Platforms, Boeing, GSK, Deutsche Boerse, Roku IncEditing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Roku forecasts robust second-quarter revenue as some ad spending improves
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The company's ad-supported streaming platform has gained popularity with users trying to cut down on their discretionary spending. Moreover, with streaming giants like Netflix and Disney+ adding ad-supported tiers to their services, more advertising dollars are flowing to streaming from TV. Roku added 1.6 million "active accounts" in the reported quarter from the fourth quarter. Roku expects macro uncertainties to persist throughout this year as inflation and recession fears dent consumer spending on discretionary goods. Net revenue rose 1% to $741 million in the first quarter, compared with analysts' expectations of $708.5 million.

☆ Streaming device maker Roku to cut 200 jobs in second round of layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 30 (Reuters) - Roku Inc (ROKU.O) will lay off 6% of its workforce, or 200 employees, in its second round of job cuts, the U.S. streaming device maker said, sending its shares up nearly 3% before the bell on Thursday. In a bid to lower expenses, the company also decided to exit and sub-lease office facilities that it did not currently occupy. Majority of the restructuring charges will be incurred in the first quarter of fiscal 2023, while the job cuts will be completed by the end of the second quarter, the company said. Earlier this month, Roku said it had about $487 million, or 26% of its cash and cash equivalents, in deposits with SVB Financial Group (SIVB.O), which was closed down by California banking regulators. Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Shweta AgarwalOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Roku says 26% of its cash reserves are stuck in Silicon Valley Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A video sign displays the logo for Roku Inc, a Fox-backed video streaming firm, in Times Square after the company's IPO at the Nasdaq Market in New York, September 28, 2017. Roku has $487 million of cash and cash equivalents in uninsured deposits at failed Silicon Valley Bank , the streaming media company said in an SEC filing Friday. About 26% of Roku's $1.9 billion in cash was deposited with SVB, which was placed into receivership by the FDIC midday Friday. "At this time, the Company does not know to what extent the Company will be able to recover its cash on deposit at SVB," Roku said in a press release. FDIC insurance only covers the first $250,000 in deposit accounts, a fraction of the cash that Roku and many other companies had vaulted with SVB.

☆ Roku will sell its first company-made smart TVs exclusively at Best Buy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A video sign displays the logo for Roku Inc, a Fox-backed video streaming firm, in Times Square after the company's IPO at the Nasdaq Market in New York, September 28, 2017. Roku said Thursday it will sell the first smart TVs designed and made by the company exclusively at Best Buy and the electronic retailer's website. Roku's hardware items, including streaming players and sound-amplifying devices, have often been the money-losing parts of the business. Roku CEO Anthony Wood told CNBC in January he is optimistic about selling the new TVs. The new TVs will feature Roku's voice remote pro, Bluetooth private listening, automatic brightness and local dimming.

☆ Roku hires Stitch Fix's Dan Jedda as finance chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 8 (Reuters) - Streaming service Roku Inc (ROKU.O) said on Wednesday it has hired former finance chief of personalized styling service company Stitch Fix Inc (SFIX.O) Dan Jedda as its chief financial officer. Roku had in its latest earnings report said it will cut costs while forecasting better-than-expected quarterly revenue on higher ad spends on the platform. Jedda's departure from Stitch Fix, which was announced by the company on Tuesday, comes months after the exit of its chief executive amid workforce cuts. Stitch Fix also missed estimates for its second-quarter results and lowered its full-year revenue forecast, signaling waning interest for its curated apparel boxes. Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Wall St eyes lower open as producer prices rebound
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A Labor Department report showed producer prices climbed 0.7% in January after a 0.2% fall in the previous month. "You're also seeing the job market still very strong as well, with claims coming in less than expected," Zaccarelli added. ET, Dow e-minis were down 274 points, or 0.8%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 47.5 points, or 1.14%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 185.75 points, or 1.46%. Traders will also scrutinize remarks from other Fed officials, including St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, to assess the central bank's tone on monetary policy. Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Wall St slides as inflation, jobless claims data fuel rate-hike angst
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Another set showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, offering more evidence of the economy's resilience. "You're also seeing the job market still very strong as well, with claims coming in less than expected." The Fed is seen pushing the benchmark rate above the 5% mark by May and keeping it above those levels till the year-end. Traders will also scrutinize remarks from other Fed officials, including St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, to assess the central bank's tone on monetary policy. The S&P index recorded two new 52-week highs and one new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 28 new highs and 22 new lows.

☆ Roku Sees Some Improvement in Ad Spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Patience Haggin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Roku last month launched its own branded smart TVs. Roku Inc. said it saw some signs of improvement in the advertising market and vowed to slow down expenses this year, while the streaming company’s battered stock continued to rebound. San Jose, Calif.-based Roku is the nation’s largest maker of streaming hardware, but derives most of its revenue from advertising. It sells all ads viewed on its own streaming service the Roku Channel and sells some ads that appear on other streaming services viewed on Roku devices.

☆ Roku promises cost cuts, sees robust first-quarter revenue; shares jump
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Tiyashi Datta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of the San Jose, California-based company rose 20% in after-market trading and later pared gains to 10% after Roku also beat fourth-quarter revenue estimates and reported a 16% jump in active users. "Despite tightening advertising budgets in the fourth quarter, ad spend on the Roku platform outperformed the overall ad and traditional TV markets in the U.S.," the company said in a statement. Roku said while pressure on ad budgets would continue in the near term, ad spending from restaurants, travel firms, consumer packaged goods and health and wellness had improved in the first quarter. For the quarter that ended Dec. 31, it reported revenue of $867.1 million, beating analysts' estimates of $801.7 million. On an adjusted basis, Roku posted a loss of $1.70 per share, narrower than an estimated loss of $1.73 per share.

☆ Roku forecasts first-quarter revenue above estimates on streaming bet
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Roku Inc (ROKU.O) forecast first-quarter revenue above analysts' estimates on Wednesday, betting on its streaming devices and content platform to drive growth. A pandemic winner, Roku is benefiting from the ongoing trend of people ditching their traditional cable packages and flocking to subscription-based streaming services. Net revenue was $867.1 million in the quarter ending Dec. 31, compared with analysts' expectations of $801.7 million, according to Refinitiv data. The streaming platform said it was expecting net revenue of $700 million for the first quarter. Roku reported net loss of $237.2 million, or $1.70 per share, during the fourth quarter, from a profit of $23.7 million, or 17 cents per share, a year earlier.

☆ Exclusive: Warner Bros Discovery licenses movies and TV shows to Roku, Tubi
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Warner Bros Discovery Inc (WBD.O) has reached deals with streaming services Roku Inc (ROKU.O) and Fox Corp's (FOXA.O) Tubi to license 2,000 hours of movies and TV series, as it becomes the latest media company to embrace free, ad-supported streaming TV. The streamers announced Tuesday they plan to use the content to launch Warner Bros-branded free, ad-supported TV (or FAST) channels. For the first nine months of 2022, Warner Bros Discovery's streaming business, which includes HBO Max, lost $1.38 billion. The studio is seeking to capitalize on a growing segment of the streaming universe, which industry executives see as complementing subscription streaming services. AMC Networks Inc (AMCX.O), Comcast Corp's (CMCSA.O) NBCUniversal and the National Hockey League have launched FAST channels over the last year.

☆ Wood's ARK Innovation Fund on pace for best month ever as battered stocks surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( David Randall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Cathie Wood's ARK Innovation Fund is closing in on the best monthly performance in its history as it rides a rebound in many of the high-growth stocks that took a beating last year. The $7.3 billion ARK Innovation (ARKK.P) fund is up slightly more than 25% for the month to date, putting it ahead of the 25% gain it notched in April 2020. Investors are awaiting the Feb. 1 conclusion of the Fed's monetary policy meeting for clues on whether easing inflation is swaying policymakers to a less hawkish view. The central bank is widely expected to increase its key policy rate by another 25 basis points next week. Overall, January's rally has helped ARK Innovation's assets under management grow by approximately $1.2 billion this month, while investors have pulled a net $59 million out of the fund, according to Lipper data.

☆ Roku Becomes Latest Streaming Giant to Launch Its Own Smart-TV Line
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Patience Haggin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Roku will sell its branded smart TVs via retail partners and on its own website. Roku Inc. launched its own branded smart TVs, joining other large streaming-industry players as they seek to control the way users access other streaming apps. San Jose, Calif.-based Roku already serves as the main streaming hub for many Americans, as a dominant maker of streaming boxes and dongles. Its operating system also powers many smart TVs manufactured by other companies.

☆ Factbox: Tech firms leading job cuts in Corporate America
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Jan 9 (Reuters) - Big Tech firms are leading a string of layoffs across corporate America as companies look to rein in costs to ride out the economic downturn. Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O):The software giant laid off under 1,000 employees across several divisions in October, Axios reported, citing a source. However, Bloomberg later reported Twitter was reaching out to dozens of employees who lost their jobs, asking them to return. HP Inc (HPQ.N):The computing devices maker said it expected to cut up to 6,000 jobs by the end of fiscal 2025. CNN:Warner Bros Discovery-owned (WBD.O) CNN's top boss Chris Licht informed employees in an all-staff memo that job cuts were underway.

Several other Fed officials in recent days have also stressed the need to continue raising rates, albeit at a slower pace. "The Fed is trying to make sure the market doesn't get too ahead of itself," said Tim Holland, chief investment officer at Orion Advisor Solutions. "They're trying to walk this rhetorical tightrope where in between meetings and big data points, they're reminding the market that they're still tightening." Traders are now pricing in 89% odds of a 50-basis-point rate hike from the Fed in December and see terminal rate at around 5% in June 2023. The S&P index recorded no new 52-week high and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 12 new highs and 101 new lows.

Softer-than-expected inflation data in recent days had boosted expectations of smaller interest rate increases, but strong retail sales figures on Wednesday stoked fears that the Fed could keep tightening the monetary policy further. Several other Fed officials in recent days have also stressed on the need to continue raising interest rates, though at a slower pace. Wall Street closed the previous session lower as a grim outlook from Target Corp (TGT.N) sparked concerns about retailers heading into the crucial holiday season. ET, Dow e-minis were down 384 points, or 1.14%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 52.5 points, or 1.32%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 177.5 points, or 1.51%. U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd fell 2.1% after the Chinese e-commerce giant posted a smaller-than-expected rise in quarterly revenue.

☆ Roku becomes latest firm to reduce staff with 200 job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 17 (Reuters) - Roku Inc (ROKU.O) said on Thursday it would cut 200 jobs in the United States, becoming the latest tech company to lay off workers amid an economic slowdown and decades-high inflation. Tech companies including Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) and Snap Inc have reduced staff this year as they grapple with a slowdown in growth and mounting costs. The video-streaming device maker expects to book a charge between $28 million and $31 million in the fourth quarter related to the layoffs, mainly severance payments and associated costs. Shares in Roku, which said layoffs would cut staff expenses by an estimated 5%, fell 2% in trading before the bell. read moreRoku, which blamed "current economic conditions" for the cuts, had 3,000 full-time employees in 13 countries as of Dec. 31 last year.

☆ Factbox: Corporate America lays off thousands as recession worries mount
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

DoorDash Inc (DASH.N):The food delivery firm, which enjoyed a growth surge during the pandemic, said it was reducing its corporate headcount by about 1,250 employees. Twitter Inc:The social media company laid off half its workforce across teams ranging from communications and content curation to product and engineering following Elon Musk's $44 billion takeover. Chime Financial Inc:The online banking firm has laid off 12% of its employees, or about 160 jobs, a spokesperson said. Coinbase Global (COIN.O):The cryptocurrency exchange said it planned to cut over 60 jobs, in its recruiting and institutional onboarding teams. CNN:Warner Bros Discovery-owned (WBD.O) CNN's top boss Chris Licht informed employees in an all-staff memo that job cuts were underway.

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