Roku’s preliminary revenue for the first quarter tops analysts’ estimates

Roku Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) announced the preliminary revenue for the first quarter on Monday that came out stronger than what the experts had forecast. The company cited a significant increase in demand for its content platform and video streaming devices as people look for means to entertain themselves during the Coronavirus pandemic that has restricted them to their homes.

The upbeat estimate for revenue in the first quarter was well-received in the stock market. Roku was reported trading around 11% up in after-hours trading on Monday. The U.S-based company also said that it anticipates a 49% increase as compared to the same quarter last year in terms of hours of content streamed by the viewers on its platform in Q1 to 13 billion.

Roku Withdraws Its Full-Year Guidance On Coronavirus Uncertainty

Roku, however, acknowledged that the ongoing health crisis has stirred unprecedented uncertainty in the market due to which, it added, it is withdrawing its financial guidance for the full-year.

According to the television streaming platform, some marketers are expected to entirely halt or at least reduce their spending on advertisements amidst the COVID-19 driven financial challenges. Roku also highlighted that it has made a £55.69 million withdrawal from the company’s revolving credit facility.

Roku’s statement on Monday also highlighted that the company estimates to have ended March with 39.8 million active accounts that translates to a massive increase of roughly 3 million active accounts since 31^st December.

Roku Estimates £244 Million To £252 Million In Revenue In Q1

In the first quarter that ended on 31^st March, the company anticipates its total net revenue to post between £244 million to £252 million. According to Refinitiv, analysts expect Roku to print £238.50 million in revenue in the first quarter.

At £85.45 per share, Roku is currently trading just over 20% down year to date in the stock market. The stock dropped to as low as £50.79 per share on March 16^th.

Roku’s performance in the stock market last year, on the other hand, was reported largely upbeat with an annual gain of more than 300%. The company opened at around £26 per share in January 2019 and closed the year significantly higher at £109 per share in December.

At the time of writing, Roku has a market cap of £9.22 billion.