__Roku embraces the little guy mentality...__ It literally [subleases](https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-is-the-leading-streaming-service-on-roku-tv-boxes-2017-9) office space from Netflix. But it tossed up big numbers Wednesday, with revenues up 51% and the number of active __[Roku](https://robinhood.com/stocks/roku)__ customers jumping 40% from last year to 29M. The best part — The CFO [welcomed](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/roku-stock-rises-after-revenue-outlook-top-expectations-2019-05-08) Disney and others to video streaming: "When they win, we win."

__Cord-cutters print money...__ Roku's direct competitors are Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick, and Google Chromecast. Those all make TVs smart and streamable. Here's how Roku makes bank:

1. __Ads:__ Its Roku Channel streams movies and shows free, with ads.
2. __Subscription:__ The Roku dongle and its Smart TVs watch Netflix more than anything else. When you subscribe to Netflix (or HBO) through your Roku, the dongle takes a cut.
3. __Hardware:__ The infamous purple dongle and the software it licenses to TV companies.

Stream

__Roku owns top real estate: Your TV...__ Americans spend a shocking [4 hours](https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2018/time-flies-us-adults-now-spend-nearly-half-a-day-interacting-with-media.print.html) a day watching live TV. Anything that gets more people cord-cutting helps Roku shift that time from live TV to Roku TV that it can monetize. When Disney+ rolls out this fall with classics, Star Wars, Fox, and Marvel for $6.99/month, it could crank cord-cutting up a notch.

Roku reveals Disney+ is its cord-cutting buddy 

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__Above the fold news: Profits for the Times...__ The __[New York Times'](https://www.robinhood.com/stocks/NYT)__ quarterly earnings were politely reported in a totally fair way by crosstown [WSJ](https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-times-posts-higher-profit-adds-223-000-digital-subscribers-11557335720). Profits rose 38% to $30M, driven by higher subscription revenue and... *rental income from its giant headquarters building*. When people are getting news from Facebook, you make money where you can. 

__User metrics matter...__ 500K people pay NYT for just its crossword puzzles and cooking recipes. But NYT is a news institution, so let's look at how many humans get all the news that's fit to print:

- 💻 __3.6M__ pay for the Times digital. 
- 🗞 __0.9M__ still go old fashioned newspaper.
- 🏆 __10M__ total subscribers is the goal by 2025 (ambitious).
- 🎧 __Bonus episode:__ __2M__ people listen to the Times' podcast, "The Daily," daily.

Read

__What's black and white and dead all over...__ The Times' news*paper*. Emphasis on "paper." Revenues for digital advertising rose 19%, while ads on huge fold-out pages fell 12%. And it's spending a lot to continue printing those for a declining userbase. Maybe it's for symbolic/historic value — our grandkids should experience a lovely morning stroll through the Sunday Times in its original, unpleasant newsprint paper form.

The New York Times is almost halfway to its 2025 10M subscriber goal

__Wasn't meant to be...__ __[Stamps.com](https://robinhood.com/stocks/stmp)__ dropped 45% after cutting its profit forecasts for the rest of the year by nearly half. Blame it on the big breakup between Stamps and the US Postal Service. News of the two moving on from each other was revealed in February, but now we know the financial [fallout](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stamps-com-shares-collapse-2019-212723776.html). It's big.

__Wasn't meant to be...__ Stamps committed to an exclusive relationship with USPS back in 1996 to let you print postage at home with its software. It was good while it was good. But Amazon's 2-day shipping makes USPS 3-7 days look bad. Stamps apparently asked USPS to be more competitive, but USPS wasn't up for it. So Stamps wants to see other [people](https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/22/investing/stamps-com-postal-service-deal/index.html). Here's how it will rebound:

- __The good:__ It can finally print postage for customers shipping through FedEx, UPS, or DHL, who already deliver your ecommerce [everything](https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/us-ecommerce-sales/).
- __The bad:__ Stamps said yesterday its post-breakup pains are real — it expects sales to fall 8% this year. Analysts thought ending exclusivity with USPS would boost sales, *not shrink them.*

Partner

__The real victims here are FedEx/UPS/DHL...__ Stamps ended things with USPS because Amazon is making moves to become the future of delivery. Jeff Bezos' monster ecommerce platform is [leasing](https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/21/amazon-air-expands-with-10-more-cargo-aircraft-bringing-fleet-to-50-planes/) 50 cargo jets right now (expected to hit 100) and has capacity for 10,000 branded tractor-trailers. Stamps' affection reveals Amazon's ambitions.

Roku reveals Disney+ is its cord-cutting buddy

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