Why Vizio's Cheap TVs Lost Money and Its Screens Didn't

A TV business that lost money on paper

Vizio's annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the SEC on February 28, 2024, splits the company into two businesses. The first, called Device, covers the smart TVs and soundbars it sells to US retailers, including wholesale clubs, and directly to consumers through its website. In 2023 that segment brought in $1,081.8 million in net revenue. The cost of the goods it sold was $1,090.4 million.

That leaves a gross loss of $8.6 million. A year earlier, the same segment had earned a thin gross profit of $16.0 million. Two caveats matter. This is gross profit, measured before operating expenses, not the company's net income. And it covers the segment as a whole, not any single TV model. Watch the short video on this page for the short take.

Where Vizio's money actually came from

The second business, Platform+, is where the profit sits. It combines SmartCast, the operating system that runs on Vizio TVs, with Inscape, the company's data business. In 2023 Platform+ had $598.2 million in net revenue and $233.3 million in cost of goods sold, for a gross profit of $364.9 million. That works out to a gross margin of about 61%.

Advertising was the largest piece. Vizio reported that advertising revenue rose $109.1 million, or 31%, from $356.9 million in 2022, which puts 2023 advertising at $466.0 million, roughly 78% of Platform+ revenue. The 10-K lists its other sources as data licensing, sales of branded buttons on Vizio remote controls, and content distribution.

Put the two segments together and the picture is lopsided. Combined gross profit was $356.3 million, which means Platform+ produced all of it, plus enough to cover the loss on devices. The pattern was visible earlier, too: a 2021 Gizmodo headline reported that Vizio was already making twice as much from advertising as from TVs.

How the TV recognizes what's on screen

Inscape is built on automatic content recognition, or ACR. Vizio describes it as technology able to identify the content displayed on the screen of its smart TVs and track viewing data regardless of the input source. Vizio says it collects viewing data only from TVs whose owners have expressly agreed after seeing a separate notice, and that it licenses a portion of that data to measurement companies, advertising agencies and other media and ad-tech companies.

That consent step has history behind it. In 2017, Vizio agreed to pay $2.2 million to the Federal Trade Commission and the State of New Jersey to settle charges that it had collected viewing histories on 11 million smart TVs without users' consent. The order required affirmative express consent for collection and the deletion of viewing data collected before March 1, 2016.

Why a cheap TV can still pay off

Seen through these numbers, the TV works more like a doorway than a product. Selling hardware at little or no gross profit can put more screens in living rooms, and each connected screen can earn advertising and data revenue for as long as it stays in use. That is likely why a company can live with a gross loss on devices while its platform keeps a high margin.

Walmart bought the business. It agreed to acquire Vizio on February 19, 2024, for $11.50 per share in cash, and completed the deal on December 3, 2024, for roughly $2.3 billion in fully diluted equity value. In its announcement, Walmart pointed to its Walmart Connect retail media business and said SmartCast had 19 million active accounts. Because the deal closed before another annual report was due, the 2023 filing was Vizio's last 10-K.

What the numbers do and don't say

The 10-K describes Vizio alone; it says nothing about how other TV brands make money. It also does not report a profit or loss per set. What it does show is a clear split. The hardware earned a thin gross profit in 2022 and slipped to a gross loss in 2023, while the screen business grew its gross profit from $296.5 million to $364.9 million.

For buyers, the practical point is the setup screen. Vizio says viewing data is collected only with the owner's consent, so the choice made there is where this business model meets the viewer. A low sticker price is part of a larger arrangement, and the rest of it plays out on the screen for years after the box is opened.

Questions people ask

Does Vizio lose money on every TV it sells?

Vizio's 10-K does not report results per TV. It reports that its Device segment, smart TVs and soundbars together, had a gross loss of $8.6 million in 2023 on $1,081.8 million of revenue. Gross profit is not the same as net income.

How does Vizio make money if its TVs don't?

Through Platform+, which made $364.9 million in gross profit in 2023. Most of its $598.2 million in revenue came from advertising, $466.0 million; the 10-K lists its other sources as data licensing, branded remote-control buttons and content distribution.

Does a Vizio TV track what I watch?

Vizio says its Inscape ACR technology can identify the content displayed on the screen regardless of input source, but that it collects viewing data only from TVs whose owners have expressly consented after notice. It licenses a portion of that data to measurement companies, advertising agencies and other media and ad-tech companies.

Sources

1. VIZIO Holding Corp. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · 2024-02-28
2. VIZIO Holding Corp. 10-K filings list (CIK 1835591)U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) · 2026-10-10
3. Walmart Completes Acquisition of VIZIOWalmart · 2024-12-03
4. VIZIO to Pay $2.2 Million to FTC, State of New Jersey to Settle Charges It Collected Viewing Histories on 11 Million Smart Televisions Without Users' ConsentFederal Trade Commission · 2017-02-06
5. Welp, Vizio Now Makes Twice as Much From Advertising as It Does From Selling TVsGizmodo · 2021-11-10

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