Roku posted a second-quarter revenue gain and told shareholders that upgrades to its search experience and ad-technology stack — including advanced AI and expanded third-party integrations — are central to its plan to capture more advertising spend.
For the quarter ended June 30, Roku reported total net revenue of $1.35 billion, up 21.6% year-over-year. Advertising revenue rose 25% to $673 million, while subscription revenue increased 26% to $548 million. The company said both advertising and subscription segments benefited from the FIFA World Cup.
Search, AI and programmatic focus
In a shareholder letter published Thursday, Roku said it is enhancing on-device and platform search to speed content discovery and to improve engagement. The company explicitly linked the work to advanced AI capabilities intended to better interpret viewer queries that are broad or conversational.
“To further help our viewers find content faster and engage more deeply with the Roku Experience, we are improving our search functionality. We are incorporating advanced AI for more accurate interpretations of our viewers’ queries, even when the queries are broad, conversational, or only based on mood and context.”
Roku also reiterated its emphasis on becoming a high-performance connected-TV (CTV) ad platform, increasing programmatic access through more third-party integrations. The company said third-party demand-side platforms (DSPs) now account for nearly three-quarters of in-stream video ad spend on its platform, naming partners including Amazon DSP, The Trade Desk, Google DV360 and Yahoo. Supply-side platforms cited include Magnite, Google Ad Manager and FreeWheel.
New Ads API partner and channel implications
Roku announced a new demand partner, Smartly, as the first to connect to Roku Ads Manager via the Roku Ads API. The company said Smartly is expected to add incremental performance revenue by early 2027.
- Revenue: $1.35 billion total net revenue in Q2, +21.6% year-over-year
- Advertising: $673 million, +25% year-over-year
- Subscriptions: $548 million, +26% year-over-year
- Programmatic: third-party DSPs represented nearly 75% of in-stream video ad spend in Q2
The shareholder letter was published in lieu of a live earnings call; Roku said an earnings conference call was not held because of its pending acquisition by Fox Corporation for $22 billion. The letter and financial reports highlighted performance metrics and platform strategy improvements as validation for the company’s push deeper into performance advertising.
| Metric | Q2 figure | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|
| Total net revenue | $1.35 billion | +21.6% |
| Advertising revenue | $673 million | +25% |
| Subscription revenue | $548 million | +26% |
Roku framed the improvements as part of a broader effort to build “the most performant CTV ad platform in the industry,” with a stated priority on deepening programmatic capabilities through expanded third-party integrations. The company called out its mix of DSPs and SSPs in the shareholder letter and attributed part of the recent growth to global sports programming.
The shareholder letter did not include an earnings call and instead served as the company’s public update while the proposed $22 billion acquisition by Fox Corporation remains pending. Roku said the Ads API connection with Smartly will begin to contribute incremental performance revenue in early 2027.
For integrators and dealers who deploy and manage CTV hardware and software, Roku’s emphasis on faster search, AI-driven query handling and a larger programmatic demand footprint may signal continued investment in platform features that influence content discovery and ad delivery on Roku devices and apps.
