Shares in Roku rose were up 30% in late morning trading Thursday (Sept. 28) following the company’s debut on Nasdaq, where shares opened at $14.
At last check, Roku shares were up $4.27 (30.50%), to $18.27 each.
Update: Roku shares closed Thursday up $9.50 (67.86%) to $23.50 each.
Anthony Wood, Roku’s founder and CEO, appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box to discuss the IPO and the company’s ambitions.
“Our goal is to power every TV in the world,” he said. “We have 15 million active customers, so there’s a lot more to go.“
Related: Roku’s Share of Streaming Market Rising, Says Parks Report
Though device sales currently represent the bulk of Roku’s revenue, those are merely the vehicle to how Roku acquires active accounts, Wood said, stressing that Roku’s business focused on selling adverting and becoming a next-gen ad platform and content distribution platform that’s delivered at scale.
In addition to calling advertising the “break and butter” of Roku’s business, he also pointed out that 80% of gross profit comes from Roku’s Platforms business, which includes the advertising component.
Related: Roku Broadens Its Ad Horizons
“As the world moves to streaming, that means all TV advertising is moving to streaming,” Wood said.
Read more at multichannel.com.
