AAPL vs ROKU: How Apple Inc. and Roku Compare (2026)

Same yardstick, side by side (as of July 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. AAPL and ROKU share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined AAPL and ROKU exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Apple (AAPL) designs and sells consumer hardware, software, and services. The iPhone is its largest product by revenue, complemented by Mac computers, iPad tablets, and the wearables category (Apple Watch, AirPods). The fastest-growing and highest-margin part of the business is Services: the App Store, iCloud, Apple Music, Apple TV+, AppleCare, advertising, and payments. Apple's strategy centers on a tightly integrated ecosystem where hardware, the operating systems (iOS, macOS, watchOS), and services reinforce each other and create high switching costs. The company designs its own silicon (the A-series and M-series chips) and outsources manufacturing primarily to partners like TSMC and Foxconn. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple is one of the most valuable companies in the world and returns enormous cash to shareholders through buybacks and a growing dividend.

Full AAPL guide

Roku operates the leading streaming operating system in the United States, powering both its own streaming devices and smart TVs manufactured by third-party OEM partners who license the Roku OS. Its platform connects viewers to thousands of streaming channels and earns revenue primarily through advertising sold across the platform, a share of subscription fees when consumers sign up for services such as Netflix or Hulu through Roku, and sales of streaming hardware devices sold near or below cost to grow the installed base. The Roku Channel, the company's own free ad-supported streaming service, has grown to represent more than 6% of all U.S. TV streaming time according to Nielsen, and the company also owns the Howdy subscription service launched in 2025. Roku was founded in 2002 by Anthony Wood, an electrical engineer and serial entrepreneur who previously founded ReplayTV, one of the first digital video recorder companies, and briefly served as VP of Internet TV at Netflix. Wood's team initially developed the first Netflix-streaming set-top box as a project for Netflix; when Netflix decided not to release a proprietary device, Roku inherited the technology and launched independently in 2008. The company went public on Nasdaq in 2017 and is headquartered in San Jose, California. Wood continues to serve as founder, chairman, and CEO, with Dan Jedda serving as CFO and COO.

Full ROKU guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• AAPL drivers: Services growth and margin; Installed base and switching costs.
• ROKU drivers: Structural shift in TV advertising; Scale and OS leadership create a durable moat.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: iPhone is still the majority of revenue, so any slowdown in smartphone replacement cycles or weakness in China, a large and competitive market, hits results directly. For ROKU, roku derives the majority of its platform revenue from digital advertising, making earnings highly sensitive to macroeconomic cycles and swings in advertiser budgets.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick AAPL if you believe its drivers more; ROKU if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the AAPL and ROKU guides.

AAPL. Apple trades at a premium multiple for a hardware-rooted business, justified by its Services growth, enormous and consistent free cash flow, and aggressive buybacks that steadily shrink the share count. The valuation embeds confidence in installed-base durability; multiple compression risk rises if iPhone growth stalls or Services regulation bites.

ROKU. Roku's valuation multiples remain elevated relative to traditional media peers, reflecting investor expectations for continued double-digit platform revenue growth and ongoing margin expansion after the company's return to profitability in 2025. The trailing P/E of roughly 103x compresses toward a forward P/E of roughly 52x as analysts model improving earnings, but the stock still prices in substantial execution on both advertising growth and cost discipline. The pending Fox Corporation acquisition at approximately $22 billion introduces an additional layer of complexity to any standalone valuation analysis, as the deal, if completed, would represent a modest premium to recent trading prices.

Headline figures (approximate, early 2026): AAPL shows revenue (ttm) ~$400 billion, operating margin ~30%, net income (ttm) ~$100 billion, gross margin ~46% (Services much higher than hardware); ROKU shows revenue (fy2025) ~$4.74 billion, net income (fy2025) ~$88 million, adjusted ebitda (fy2025) ~$421 million, free cash flow (fy2025) ~$484 million.

AAPL and ROKU are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined AAPL and ROKU exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.