Netflix beats subscriber targets, shares jump 10pc

NEW YORK: Netflix Inc crushed Wall Street forecasts by adding 5.2 million new streaming customers in the second quarter and predicted continued momentum as foreign subscriptions topped those in the United States, lifting its stock 10.4 per cent.

Shares of the streaming-television pioneer jumped $16.82 to $178.55 in after-hours trading, beating their all-time intraday high of $166.87 on June 8.

Netflix expects foreign growth to bring its first full-year profit for overseas markets in 2017, the company said in a letter to shareholders.

At the end of June, Netflix for the first time recorded more subscribers abroad than in the United States — 52.03 million vs. 51.92 million.

A strong slate of TV series, such as “13 Reasons Why” and the latest season of “House of Cards,” brought in more customers than Netflix had predicted for the second quarter, typically its slowest season of the year. Wall Street had expected 3.2 million new customers worldwide.

Netflix added 4.14 million monthly subscribers in non-US markets, far more than the average analyst estimate of 2.59 million, according to data from analytics firm FactSet.

In the United States, it signed up 1.07 million subscribers, beating analysts’ average estimate of 631,000.

Netflix projected adding 3.65 million international subscribers from July through September, compared with analysts’ consensus estimate of 3.2 million.

Netflix is spending $6 billion a year on content to win new subscribers in a quest to become the world’s top movie and TV streaming service, even as it faces a slowdown in US customer growth. It is customising content for different countries and adding shows in various languages. — Reuters