Netflix shares jump 11% on blowout earnings, studio touts return of ‘Squid Game’
A great year for Netflix keeps on getting better. The stock jumped 11% Friday morning after the streaming giant’s Q3 earnings beat Wall Street’s expectations across the board, and many analysts and portfolio managers still see plenty of room to grow. Shares are now up over 60% this year after soaring to a new all-time high on Friday, rising above the $760 mark, as Netflix remains the industry’s largest and fastest growing service.
Quarterly earnings per share came in at $5.40, up from $3.73 in the same quarter last year and beating the Street’s estimates by almost 30 cents, while revenue grew 15% to $9.83 billion. The company also released confident guidance for next year, projecting revenue growth of 11%–13%, to $43 billion–$44 billion.
Streaming has become a brutally competitive business as customers rapidly churn through content and show little hesitation to cancel subscriptions if they don’t stay fed. Netflix, however, has been able to stay ahead of the pack.
Despite delays caused by the two Hollywood strikes last year, the company still managed to deliver new hit series like The Perfect Couple, as well as a new season of fan favorite Emily in Paris.
In a letter to shareholders, Netflix touted the return of Squid Game, its most popular series ever, in the fourth quarter. The end of the year will also underline the company’s foray into live sports, which includes two NFL games on Christmas Day and a boxing match between former superstar Mike Tyson and influencer Jake Paul.
“There’s definitely some good content out there, but Netflix, I think, is winning on having the most original content, but also the most viewers as well,” Brian Mulberry, a client portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management, told Fortune before the earnings call. “So, consumers are liking what they’re producing, is what it’s coming down to.”
Netflix tries to push focus off subscriber numbers
Mulberry, whose firm holds Netflix in a variety of products, also noted a diversifying customer base as a major strength. The company added just over 5 million new subscribers in Q3, above the Street’s expectations. Most came from two regions—Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as the Asia-Pacific.
In line with past trends, Netflix said it expects higher subscriber growth to close the year. The company will stop reporting the closely watched statistic, however, starting in 2025.
That’s disappointing to people who follow the stock like Scott Acheychek, the COO of Rex Financial, who oversees a leveraged ETF that provides investors with 200% exposure to the stock’s daily returns.
He understands, however, that the company thinks the attention the number generates detracts from other measures it feels are more indicative of the success of the business.
“They are making a clear and direct pivot to make us all look at and consider their company performance based on margins and revenues,” he told Fortune via email following the earnings call.
Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing has boosted both those numbers, but analysts expect that impact eventually to fade. Many are closely watching the performance of the service’s cheaper, ad-supported tier, for which membership jumped 35% quarter on quarter.
