Remember the story of the Trojan horse? Where the Greeks pretended to give the Trojans a nice little gift, snuck inside, and then… bam… took over the city. Well, that’s pretty much what Roku has done to our TV.

At first, Roku was just a cheap little streaming box you bought because cable was ripping you off. But it’s quietly infiltrated more than half of U.S. broadband homes and is expanding fast in Mexico (40% penetration) and beyond. And here’s the thing… Most people don’t even realize that Roku is an advertising beast that makes money every time you binge-watch that weird show from the 90s you can’t find anywhere else. Wall Street finally caught on this week, and investors hit the play button on Roku stock. Shares went on a 15% run over the last week, after Guggenheim reiterated its “buy” rating on the stock.

Unlike Netflix, Disney+, and the other streaming giants spending billions on content, Roku is playing a completely different game. Instead of fighting over who has the best TV shows, Roku just sits back and collects ad dollars from everyone. And it’s working.

Roku now reaches 92 million households globally, with 65 million in the U.S. alone. The Roku Channel is booming, with 50% of U.S. broadband homes starting their TV time on Roku’s home screen… a prime spot for advertisers. And in Q4, Roku’s platform revenue… ads, content, and subscription sales… topped $1 billion for the first time. That Trojan horse strategy is expanding beyond the U.S. as Roku makes big moves in international markets. If it can pull off the same playbook worldwide, its ad business could explode even further.

Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris remains bullish but added a note of caution. He maintained a “buy” rating but trimmed his 12-month price target from $115 to $100, citing market-wide valuation concerns. Even at $100 per share, that’s still a 40% upside from today’s levels.

The bullish case for Roku is clear. It’s a Trojan horse for the streaming world, already inside most households, and its ad business is blowing up (in a good way). It’s expanding internationally, which means more users and more ad dollars.

Valuation-wise, Roku is in a weird spot. No P/E ratio (because it’s not consistently profitable yet), but it’s trading at a price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 4.27. Analysts peg its fair value at around $83.74, meaning there’s still upside even before considering future growth. Profitability is still the biggest concern. Roku’s operating margin sits at -5.3%, and return on equity (ROE) is -5.38%… not ideal. But that’s improving as the company focuses on actually making a profit.

But there are risks. The streaming industry is cutthroat, and competition from Amazon, Apple, and Google is fierce. Roku isn’t consistently profitable yet, though free cash flow is improving. And if the market sours on growth stocks, Roku could take a hit. But for now, it’s enjoying its March Madness Cinderella run.

Stocks.News has positions in Roku, Disney, and Netflix mentioned in article.