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Roku turned its first annual profit in 2021, riding the wave of the pandemic-fueled streaming boom.
But analysts say that year deserves an asterisk because millions of people spent more time at home during the pandemic while Roku temporarily pulled back on international expansion and other spending. After a three-year stretch of sizable losses, Roku posted a full-year profit for 2025. Some might say this one counts.
I talked with Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Dan Jedda about how he reined in wasteful spending and shifted toward areas with bigger returns since joining in 2023—and how that paid off in profitability. “We're being very intentional with our trade-offs and we're prioritizing initiatives that move the needle on both revenue and profitability,” Jedda told me.
Tariff talk: But first, I sought his reaction on the biggest corporate-finance news story of the moment, the Supreme Court’s strikedown of President Trump’s tariffs.
Companies like Roku are analyzing the potential impacts of the court ruling and the new 15% global levy Trump moved to impose in response. It’s unclear whether the administration will refund businesses that paid levies. Tariffs have a minor impact on the profit margins of Roku’s devices business.
“Of course, if there's a process and we can save money, we would take advantage of that,” Jedda said. “But this isn't as big of an impact for us as it is for many others.”
Dual role: I also inquired about the COO title the company added to his title last year. Combining CFO and COO better reflected the scope of Dan’s responsibilities, which already included finance and operations, the company said. As part of the change, Dan now oversees the human-resources function as well, Roku said.
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