Roku may benefit the most from Walmart’s Vizio acquisition

Recently, Walmart (WMT) announced a $2.3 billion deal to purchase TV maker Vizio (VIZO) as a way to expand its digital advertising business. In response, shares of competitor Roku (ROKU) have begun to trade lower this week. Needham & Co. Senior Media & Internet Analyst Laura Martin joins Yahoo Finance to give insight into why she believes this is an overreaction and, in fact, the deal is a positive for Roku. Martin elaborates on the possible benefits for Roku with this deal: "The big competitors here are Samsung (005930.KS), LG, Vizio — which will now be gone — and Roku, and they're all owned by these huge conglomerates other than Roku, which is owned by a single founder. Really fast pivot times, really fast product upgrade times because there's one guy that can make a decision. That used to be true of Vizio. Now, being owned by Walmart, we would guess that decisions and changes and market reactions are a little bit slower because Walmart's processes are probably a little more refined than these founder-led companies like Roku and Vizio. So, I think that's good for Roku…" For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live. Editor's note: This article was written by Nicholas Jacobino