Roku slumped Tuesday on fears the streaming device company is set to face stiff competition from Amazon after the e-commerce giant launched new smart TVs.
In a sign that Amazon is starting to ramp up plans to bolster advertising on its streaming TV products and encroach on Roku’s turf, the e-commerce giant launched three new smart televisions with support for HDR to the product line for the first time.
Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) fell more than 3%, while Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) fell 1.4%.
The sticker price of the TVs is also attractive, increasing the likelihood that Amazon adds to its superior user base. The 43-inch model is priced at $329.99, 50-inch at $379.99 and 55-inch at $449.99.
Roku is estimated to have 28.6 million active user accounts, with Amazon’s Fire TV slightly higher at about 30 million active users to date.
Amazon is not the only competitor posing a threat to Roku. Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) video product unveiled on March 25 is also expected to vie for a piece of the pie.
Despite the weakness, Roku is up nearly 200% year to date as better-than-expected first-quarter results in May helped the stock mount a recovery.
