Netflix growth misses mark despite strong earnings
AFP
AFP, SAN FRANCISCO: Netflix subscriber growth missed its mark in the first quarter of this year, but the on-demand television star expects to hit the 100-million milestone this weekend.
Along with posting strong earnings on Monday, US-based Netflix reported a net increase of 4.95 million subscribers, most of those overseas where it has been investing in becoming a global entertainment network.
In comparison, Netflix gained 7.05 million subscribers in the prior quarter, raising expectations in the market.
We have come to see these quarterly variances as mostly noise in the long-term growth trend and adoption of internet TV, Netflix said in a letter released along with the earnings figures.
Netflix finished the first quarter of this year with 98.75 million subscribers and predicted that its ranks would crest 100 million this weekend.
That is a bit accomplishment, Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings said during a video briefing with analysts.
We are super excited.
The company expected it would add about 8.15 million subscribers overall during the first half of this year as compared with 8.42 million in the same period in 2016.
Netflix shares dipped and then rose in after-market trades that followed release of the quarterly earnings figures, eventually gaining more than a percent to reach $149.25.
Executives declined to reveal details about viewing trends at Netflix, but Hastings disclosed that people watch more than a billion hours worth of shows weekly at the service while Google-owned YouTube boasts that much viewership daily.
