Media

Netflix reports record second quarter for subscriber numbers

International customers of video streaming service now outnumber US subscribers

Netflix hit Stranger Things, which stars (from left) Winona Ryder, Charlie Heaton, and Natalia Dyer, received 18 nominations in this year’s Emmy awards

Mon Jul 17 2017 - 21:52

Netflix scored a record second quarter, surpassing forecasts for subscriber growth and boosting its international audience past the domestic total for the first time, according to results released Monday night.

Netflix’s blend of TV shows, movies and stand-up comedy TV has started to catch on in some of the biggest countries in the world, from Brazil to Britain.

The company will reach at least 20 per cent of broadband households in five of its largest markets outside the United States by the end of the year, according to Instinet.

The world’s largest paid online video service added 5.2 million subscribers in the second quarter, far surpassing the 3.2 million forecast by analysts. The company said 4.14 million of those new viewers came from outside the US, bringing the international total to more than 52 million.

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Netflix is spending more than $6 billion on programming in 2017. While the most of that reflects shows licensed from big Hollywood studios, the company is now releasing a dizzying array of new shows and movies of its own, including new series set in Spain and Mexico during the quarter.

Shares in Netflix soared as much as 9.3 percent to $176.75. in extended trading, showing investors continue to be focused on subscribers, which soared to almost 104 million in the period. The stock is up 31 percent this year.

For the second quarter, Netflix signed up 1.07 million US customers, easily beating the 633,000 average of analysts’ estimates. They were projecting 2.6 million new international signups.

Sales grew to $2.79 billion, compared with projections of $2.76 billion.

All that growth comes at a cost. Net income of $66 million, or 15 US cents a share, fell short of the 16-cent average of analysts forecasts, even while up from a year earlier.

The company raised another $1 billion in the quarter to fund original programming.

The momentum looks set to continue this quarter. The company projects it will add 4.4 million new subscribers, compared with the 3.96 million average of analysts’ estimates.

Netflix forecasts net income of 32 cents a share, on revenue of $2.97 billion. That compared with analysts’ estimates of 23 cents and revenue of $2.88 billion. Even with growth in the US continuing to shine,

Netflix earned 91 Emmy nominations last week, the most in company history and second only to Time Warner’s HBO. – Bloomberg

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