Roku plummets 25% after the TV streaming company reveals downbeat outlook in latest earnings report

• Shares of Roku dropped 25% in Friday trading after the company gave a weak revenue forecast.
• In the first quarter, Roku expects a 25% increase to $720 million, below analysts' forecasts of $748.5 million.

Roku stock plunged 25% on Friday after giving weak guidance for the current quarter and reporting a fourth-quarter revenue miss.

Late Thursday, the streaming-video company reported revenue of $865.3 million, below the expected $894 million. Revenue growth also slowed to 33% from 51% and 81% in the two previous quarters, respectively. But earnings per share of 17 cents beat estimates for 9 cents.

In the first quarter, Roku expects a continued slowdown in revenue growth, projecting a 25% increase to $720 million, below analysts' forecasts of $748.5 million.

Management blamed supply chain snags that have hit the US television sector, and noted that it chose not to pass on higher costs to customers in order to support new customer acquisition.

"For 2022, we expect ongoing supply chain disruptions will continue to impact the global economy," the company said in its earnings report. "This will affect the broader consumer electronics space, and the TV industry in particular."

Roku also warned that usage could remain weak after cooling off in the second half of 2021. For the full year, Roku had 60.1 million active accounts, and users streamed over 73.2 billion hours of content.

"Overall TV unit sales are likely to remain below pre-COVID levels, which could affect our active account growth," the company said.