7M NEW USERS BOLSTER NETFLIX
Netflix Inc added about seven million streaming customers in the latest quarter, 1.8 million more than Wall Street expected, as it debuted a record amount of original programming, including new seasons of popular shows Orange is the New Black and BoJack Horseman. The additions brought Netflix’s customer base to 137 million worldwide and its shares jumped 14 per cent to US$394.25 in after-hours trading. Netflix is investing billions of dollars in entertainment programming to hook new customers. Investors have generally accepted the big spending as subscriber rolls swelled. For the year to date, Netflix shares are up about 78 per cent, compared with about five per cent for the S&P 500 index. Netflix said it signed up roughly 1.1 million subscribers in the U.S. during the latest quarter, above analysts’ estimate of 674,000. It added nearly 5.9 million subscribers internationally.