Latest news with #KennethLeon
Reuters
01-08-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Roku beats second-quarter revenue estimates as platform growth accelerates
July 31 (Reuters) - Roku (ROKU.O), opens new tab topped Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue on Thursday, helped by its expanding user base and advertising sales. Analysts expect connected TV to be one of the fastest-growing ad media outlets over the next three to five years as ad budgets shift from linear TV to streaming, with Roku being a key beneficiary given its leading scale and engagement. In June, Roku announced an advertising partnership with (AMZN.O), opens new tab, giving advertisers access to the largest authenticated connected TV footprint in the U.S., with a combined reach of 80 million U.S. households through the Amazon platform. "Roku's strategic focus on enhancing user experience is paying off, with the Roku Channel becoming the second most engaged app on the platform, and Roku TV operating system capturing nearly 40% of U.S. TV unit sales," said Kenneth Leon, director of equity research at CFRA. The company reported revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the analysts' average estimate of $1.07 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Roku's platform segment — which includes advertising and subscription revenue — grew 18% to $975 million in the quarter, driven by video advertising and its acquisition of Frndly. It also announced a $400 million stock repurchase program. Roku expects third-quarter revenue of $1.2 billion, slightly above estimates of $1.17 billion.
CNA
31-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
Roku beats second-quarter revenue estimates as platform growth accelerates
Roku topped Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue on Thursday, helped by its expanding user base and advertising sales. Analysts expect connected TV to be one of the fastest-growing ad media outlets over the next three to five years as ad budgets shift from linear TV to streaming, with Roku being a key beneficiary given its leading scale and engagement. In June, Roku announced an advertising partnership with giving advertisers access to the largest authenticated connected TV footprint in the U.S., with a combined reach of 80 million U.S. households through the Amazon platform. "Roku's strategic focus on enhancing user experience is paying off, with the Roku Channel becoming the second most engaged app on the platform, and Roku TV operating system capturing nearly 40 per cent of U.S. TV unit sales," said Kenneth Leon, director of equity research at CFRA. The company reported revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the analysts' average estimate of $1.07 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Roku's platform segment — which includes advertising and subscription revenue — grew 18 per cent to $975 million in the quarter, driven by video advertising and its acquisition of Frndly. It also announced a $400 million stock repurchase program.
Business Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Citigroup shares hit highest since 2008 after profit beat, buyback plan
[NEW YORK] Citigroup's shares briefly touched their highest since the 2008 financial crisis after the bank beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit and said it plans to buy back at least US$4 billion in stock. The stock rose as high as US$90.69 on Tuesday (Jul 15) after the third largest US lender reported market-beating earnings, driven by windfalls in its trading and investment banking businesses. It was last up 3 per cent in late afternoon trading. The promised US$4 billion share buyback in the third quarter is bigger than the US$3.75 billion the bank bought back in the first half of the year. Analysts reacted well to the results and increased shareholder return. Kenneth Leon, director of Research at CFRA, increased the target price for Citigroup by US$17 to US$110 per share for the next 12 months. Leon said the bank deserves to trade closer to peers as its performance is improving. Stocks and bonds have whipsawed since April, when US President Donald Trump stunned markets by announcing sweeping tariffs against major trading partners. Volatility tends to help Wall Street trading desks as clients adjust their portfolios. Citi's markets revenue jumped 16 per cent to US$5.9 billion, its best performance since the second quarter of 2020. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Markets have rebounded and investment banking deals resumed after the initial shock of US tariff announcements in April froze activity. Several large IPOs and multibillion-dollar buyouts since June have fuelled optimism for the second half. 'We are very pleased on the M&A front – the pipeline is excellent,' CEO Jane Fraser told analysts on a conference call, and said the bank is working on seven of the 10 largest investment banking transactions of the year. The bank has been seeing more activity in healthcare and tech, mainly in North America, and more deals coming from financial sponsors. The third-largest US lender's net income was US$4 billion, or US$1.96 per share, in the three months ended Jun 30. Analysts, on average, had expected US$1.60 per share, according to estimates compiled by LSEG. In addition to the higher revenue from trading, Citi's investment banking fees rose 13 per cent. Investment banking growth was led by a 52 per cent rise in M&A advisory fees. Overall banking revenue increased 19 per cent to US$1.9 billion. Chief financial officer Mark Mason said the bank still sees dealmaking picking up despite tariff uncertainty ahead of an Aug 1 implementation date. 'The equity and debt issuance markets remain constructive in light of equity evaluations and the direction of interest rates.', he said. Equity capital markets fees climbed 25 per cent in the quarter, driven by strength in convertibles and initial public offerings (IPOs). The banking division has grown rapidly since its leader, Viswas Raghavan, joined from JPMorgan a year ago. Citi jointly led the US$1.05-billion IPO of stablecoin issuer Circle and the US$650-million listing of retail trading platform eToro. The bank also advised Charter Communications on its US$21.9-billion deal to buy privately held Cox Communications in May. This quarter may mark a more lasting change for the bank, UBS analyst Erika Najarian said in a note to clients. 'Citigroup is a well-known capital return potential story, but 2Q results imply that it could be more than this, which could attract more long-term shareholders that had been reticent about owning shares.' Earlier on Tuesday, rivals JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit. Consent orders progress Fraser said the bank is making progress on complying with regulatory punishments, known as consent orders, requiring it to improve controls and data quality. In a presentation to analysts, Citi announced that it has retired 211 applications in the first half of the year and enhanced controls in 85 countries to detect 'large, anomalous payments'. The bank was hit by the consent orders in 2020 after it erroneously sent US$900 million to Revlon lenders. Citi shares have been slowly narrowing the gap with Wall Street peers, but are still traded below book value. They have 17 buy recommendations and five hold recommendations from analysts, according to data compiled by LSEG. Citi shares have risen 24.3 per cent year to date, compared with a 6.6 per cent gain in the S&P 500 to Monday. The bank is on track to carry out an IPO of its Mexican unit Banamex by year-end, Fraser said. Citi's global revenue rose 8 per cent in the quarter from a year earlier to US$21.7 billion, notching second-quarter records for its services, wealth, and US personal banking businesses. Revenue in the wealth unit, singled out by Fraser as a key growth area, was up 20 per cent in the quarter. US personal banking revenues climbed 6 per cent in the second quarter, driven by higher interest-earning balances on credit cards. Most of the credit losses this quarter, of US$2.2 billion, were related to the credit card portfolio. The bank built around US$600 million as an allowance for credit losses to address some downgrades in the corporate lending portfolio and some transfer risk of dividends in Russia belonging to clients. REUTERS
CNA
01-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Roku trims annual revenue forecast as economic uncertainty weighs
Roku trimmed its annual revenue expectations and forecast second-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates on Thursday, due to economic uncertainty and tariff-related concerns, sending its shares down 4.9 per cent in after-hours trading. Roku faces tough competition from tech giants such as Amazon and Apple, which offer similar streaming devices: the Amazon Fire TV Stick and Apple TV, respectively. This intensified competition continues to pressure Roku to defend its market share. The company's devices segment — which includes Roku-branded TVs and streaming players — is projected to see a revenue decline of about 10 per cent year-over-year. Roku also said it is challenging to forecast tariff-related impacts in its devices segment. "While there is more macro uncertainty than normal, we are providing our best outlook based on our current visibility and what we are observing in our business," the company said in a letter to shareholders. The company expects net revenue of $4.55 billion for the full year, compared to its previous forecast of $4.61 billion. Analysts, on average, expect $4.57 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. However, quarterly revenue from Roku's platform segment — its largest business, which generates income from advertising sales and subscriptions — grew 17 per cent to $881 million. "Despite global headwinds, we expect Roku to achieve positive operating income by 2026, supported by its strong market position," said Kenneth Leon, director of equity research at CFRA. Separately, Roku said on Thursday it has agreed to acquire Frndly TV — a subscription streaming service offering live TV, on-demand video and cloud-based DVR — for $185 million in cash. "This acquisition supports our focus on growing platform revenue and Roku-billed subscriptions," said Roku CEO Anthony Wood. It expects revenue of $1.07 billion for the second quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.09 billion. However, Roku's first-quarter revenue of $1.02 billion was slightly above estimates of $1.01 billion.
