Vizio Shipped 1.5M TVs in Q1, 28% More Than in 2020 Quarter

Superlatives flowed from Vizio executives Tuesday on the company’s Q1 earnings call, its first since going public March 25. “We are very pleased with the results we generated in our first quarter as a public company,” said Chief Financial Officer Adam Townsend. “We continue to benefit from the rapid adoption of streaming and our expanding presence in the advertising marketplace.”

Total revenue in the quarter increased 52% year on year to $505.7 million, including $453.5 million from device sales (up 47%) and $52.2 million (up 120%) from Platform+, the segment incorporating SmartCast ad monetization and the Inscape automatic content recognition data offering. Vizio shipped 1.5 million smart TVs in the quarter, 28% more than in Q1 a year earlier. SmartCast active accounts increased 57% to 13.4 million. Total Vizio viewing hours were up 42% to 6.95 billion, including a 70% increase in SmartCast viewing hours to 3.62 billion. Net income declined 64% to $3.3 million, on non-cash share compensation expenses.

Vizio operates in “a highly competitive” TV industry, yet this year it has been able to “expand our number of shelves with several of the largest retailers in the country,” said CEO William Wang. “We’re also looking to expand with the online sales channels,” he said. Vizio expects to “gain share going forward,” he said.

Viewing on SmartCast in the quarter accounted for 52% of “total time spent on our TVs,” up from 43% a year earlier, said Townsend. Q1 time spent on linear TV declined to 34% from 41%, “highlighting the continued consumer shift toward streaming,” he said. Only 7% of Q1 viewing time was spent using an “external streaming device plugged into our TVs,” he said. That’s “further evidence that our consumers are seeking an integrated solution and are increasingly choosing SmartCast as their primary way to search, discover and consume content,” he said.

Vizio “delivered” the 28% increase in smart TV shipments in the quarter “even as port congestions around the country caused delays,” said Townsend. “We expect these continued delays to move some units out of the first half of the year and into the back half. Fortunately, demand continues to outpace supply, so we view this as a time dynamic with no change in our expectations for the year.”

Average unit pricing in the quarter was up across Vizio’s TV and soundbar assortments, said Townsend. That was “probably due to the overall strong demand” but also from the “higher mix” of larger-screen TVs “and from the success we are seeing within our higher-end 5.1 and Dolby Atmos soundbar products," he said.