Is it time to give up Roku stock?

When it comes to frustrating stock ownership Year (Name: roku) For many investors, it may be close to the top of the list. The stock has dropped nearly 90% from its all-time high price of $490.76 per share, which hit in mid-2021. Despite its growing user base and leading the way in which consumers transition to streaming TV, the company is still working to regain profitability.

Knowing this, it is not unreasonable to think about what investors should do. Should they throw towels and sell them? Or do shareholders need to give the company more time to turnover that they have been waiting for for a long time?

Image source: Getty Images.

For all of Roku’s challenges, its business model has great potential for success. It sells equipment with meager margins and even slight losses to attract viewers to its platform.

From there, content providers work with companies to showcase their streaming services on their platforms, and advertisers in turn attract a wide audience. Now, the advertising business generates most of the company's revenue.

Roku's market wins could exacerbate investor frustration. Even larger competitors, e.g. Amazon Samsung has gained some market share in recent months, and Roku has maintained its leadership position. According to Pixalate, nearly 40% of streaming homes in North America use Roku devices.

So, Roku points out that it is the first streaming platform in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It also claims that nearly 40% of TVs sold in the United States use Roku's operating system.

Meanwhile, customers continue to move from traditional TV to streaming options. This market share lead means that Roku is the biggest beneficiary of this secular trend. This is crucial because device revenue leads to platform revenue. In the first quarter, Roku's top line rose 16% year-on-year to $1.02 billion.

Unfortunately, Roku's continued growth has not returned it to the profitability it has gained during the pandemic. Although its net loss of $27 million is well below the $51 million reported in the same period last year, Roku Bulls, who seeks stronger profitability, is still frustrating.

Starting in 2025, Roku has stopped average revenue per user (ARPU), a move unlikely to reassure investors. Although it released free cash flow figures that have been positive for several quarters, the $298 million free cash flow fell 30% year-on-year.

Additionally, the stock reversed almost all earnings over the past year. Just in February, Roku grew by more than 60% in just nine months.

That is, as of this writing, its price-to-sale ratio is 2.1, down from more than 30 in 2021. Although prices are like value stocks rather than growth stocks, Roku failed to attract more investors' interest.

Even so, investors may still need to consider holding or increasing stocks at current levels.

Granted, holding may be the last step shareholders want to take given the stock’s stagnation time. However, at the current rate of improvement, the company can eventually make another profit on net income next year. This should address the long-term focus on the business.

Otherwise, Roku has become a value stock, and investors who reach level at one time may view it as the lowest valuation of rocks at one time. Assuming that valuations can eventually be retracted more like the valuation of growth stocks, which dominate in high-opportunity industries, Roku can still deliver considerable long-term returns. Therefore, now is not the time to give up on stocks.

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John Mackey, former CEO of Amazon's subsidiary Whole Foods Market, is a member of the board of directors of Motley Fool. Will Healy has a position in Roku. Motley Fool has a place and recommends Amazon and Roku. Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Is it time to give up Roku stock? Originally published by Motley Fool