What They Say
TV brand Vizio, which has been so successful in the US, has filed for an IPO for the second time on the NYSE under the symbol VZIO. The first plan for an IPO was shelved in 2015 after the firm agreed to be acquired by Leshi Internet Information and Technology Corp, which had the LeEco brand, but that deal fell through in 2017 (LeEco Abandons Acquisition of Vizio)
The firm said that it sold 7.1 million smartTVs in 2020, up 20% on the previous year. The net income was $102 million on sales of more than $2 billion. Platform revenues grew from $63 million in 2019 to $147 million last year, with the rest coming from device sales.
After the IPO, founder and Chief Executive Officer William Wang will continue to control the company, Vizio said. More than 25% of Vizio’s Class A shares are currently held by Foxconn affiliates, according to the filing.
What We Think
I suspect that TV brands will be under pressure from panel prices this year, but Vizio has a strong business model, developed over plenty of time, in the US. It may well prove a popular investment for the brand’s fans although the TV market is never easy.
A while ago, I noticed that Vizio had started to sell soundbars in the UK (It has never sold TVs in Europe). I was going to explain both why Vizio had done well in the US and also why it was unlikely to be able to do the same in Europe. However, when trying to write the IPO story, I went to logon to the Vizio.com website and got redirected to a Viziosoundbar.uk website that had a failed security certificate. Not that impressive and a sign of a lack of real interest in the UK market. Intriguingly, I got the same when I connected via a VPN, but at that point, I lost interest in trying to connect! (BR)
