Key Financial Data
- Q2 Total revenue: $1.35 billion (+22% year-over)
- Platform revenue: $1.22 billion (+25%)
- Advertising revenue: $672.8 million (+25%)
- Subscriptions revenue: $548.2 million (+26%)
- Devices revenue: $133.7 million (-1%)
- Total gross profit: $673.7 million (+35%)
- Platform gross profit: $646.8 million (+30%)
- Advertising gross profit: $420.0 million (+39%)
- Subscriptions gross profit: $226.7 million (+16%)
- Devices gross profit: $26.9 million (no change)
- Operating expenses: $527.5 million (+1%)
- Research and development expenses: $179.7 million (+1%)
- Sales and marketing expenses: $223.2 million (-8%)
- Read more Q2 2026 media earnings coverage | Roku coverage
Streaming hardware maker Roku continues to print money off the back of its robust subscription and advertising business, which has long overtaken revenue associated with sales of its smart TVs and streaming devices.
That trend was unchanged during the company’s second quarter (Q2) of the year, when Roku raked in more than $1.35 billion in overall revenue, of which $1.22 billion was directly tied to advertising, sales of third-party subscriptions and other transactions from more than 100 million global users of its connected TV platform.
Nearly three-quarters of in-stream video advertising spending on Roku came through third-party demand-side platforms, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Roku said political advertising during the quarter exceeded the comparable period of the 2024 presidential election cycle, with spending expected to accelerate ahead of the November midterm elections.
The statement was a strong signal that political campaigns and causes are no longer prioritizing ad buys against local and regional TV stations to get their messages out — they’re now taking advantage of similar opportunities from streaming platforms like Roku, most of which offer more-personalized inventory that allows them to target specific users at specific times.
Roku said video advertising on its platform continued to outpace the broader U.S. streaming and digital advertising markets, supported by its scale, first-party data and programmatic technology. Advertising revenue clocked in at $672.8 million during Q2, up 25 percent compared to last year.
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Subscriptions revenue increased 26 percent to $548.2 million. Roku said the FIFA Men’s World Cup became one of its largest cross-platform subscriber acquisition events, generating hundreds of thousands of sign-ups through services including Fox One, Peacock, Vix, TSN, Paramount Plus and Globoplay.
Platform-related profit increased 30 percent to $646.8 million, while the platform gross margin expanded to 53 percent from 51 percent.
Devices revenue declined 1 percent to $133.7 million. Most homes in the mature connected TV markets where Roku operates have already chosen the platform they want to use on a regular basis; Roku no longer discloses how many users it serves, but at last count, the number was north of 100 million. Roku-made televisions accounted for approximately 5 percent of U.S. television unit sales during the quarter.
The other element impacting device-related sales is an ongoing component shortage that has left Roku and other hardware makers scrambling to execute wholesale orders for things like memory and microprocessors. Last month, The Desk was first to report on the company’s decision to raise prices across its streaming hardware line, with one executive confirming the component shortage was the reason for the hikes; Roku continues to offer most of its devices on “sale” at older price points.
Roku did not make its executives available for a conference call, and the company declined to offer forward-looking guidance. The company cited its pending acquisition by Fox Corporation as the core reasons behind those decisions.
