Roku isn’t a company that’s afraid to go it alone. The streaming device manufacturer makes the most beloved connected TV operating system (OS) of any company, and just this week officials discussed Roku’s ambitions to be present in over 100 million households by 2026. But that doesn’t mean Roku shouldn’t be open for business; several Wall Street analysts are discussing the possibility of the company being bought sometime in 2025, and who they think might be the most likely potential buyers.

Key Details:

• A note from Guggenheim suggests that The Trade Desk could be the best potential partner for a Roku purchase.
• Needham & Company analysts see Amazon as a likely suitor for Roku.
• The recent Walmart purchase of VIZIO could demonstrate a desire by other retailers to make similar moves.

As reported by StreamTV Insider, the financial services company Guggenheim Partners issued a note last week predicting that the self-service digital advertising platform The Trade Desk would be the one to snatch Roku up. It cites The Trade Desk’s recent decision to create a TV operating system of its own to distribute ads with, and that buying Roku could scale that platform instantly.

“We believe TTD could rapidly scale its OS ambitions via Roku’s 85 million-plus global streaming household footprint, while Roku could quickly leverage its first-party viewer data and expand connected-TV inventory to match with growing advertising demand,” the Guggenheim note reads.

Needham & Company analyst Laura Martin also sees a Roku acquisition as a real possibility next year but isn’t limiting her prognostications to focus on just one potential buyer. There are plenty of suitors that make sense for Roku, including retailers who have observed Walmart's purchase of the smart TV maker VIZIO and are now thinking that a smart TV OS of their own isn’t a bad idea.

“Walmart has told you by buying Vizio that these large retailers need a connected television advertising platform to tie purchases to,” Martin told Bloomberg in an interview. “That means Target and other large retailers have that reason to buy Roku to tie Roku’s connected television ad units to their sales in their retail stores. And by the way, Roku has much higher margins than any retailer.”

Martin is also eyeing the deep-pocketed Amazon as a possible buyer of Roku.

“Roku has a lot of first-party data. And Amazon could tie the advertising of Roku to purchases. So there’s a lot of potential purchasers here,” she said.

There have been no reported overtures made to Roku as of yet, so for now, this talk of acquisitions is purely conjecture. But Roku looks like a company ripe for snapping up, and consumers shouldn’t be shocked if a deal emerges to buy the company at some point in 2025.