Netflix has become a household brand, and they have the subscriber numbers to prove it. While the popular streaming service had high expectations, both from Wall Street and from themselves. Netflix projected that they would add a staggering 3.2 million subscribers in the the first quarter of 2017. The final reported numbers from last quarter note a subscriber growth of 5.2 million people.
Not only is Netflix growing their subscriber base, they are also expanding their marketing. Of the 5.2 million new subscribers they saw join their service in the last quarter, four million of them were international. Yes, that means that the US added a million new subscribers, which is impressive given how much of a marketing focus Netflix put on international growth during that period.
“In Q2, we underestimated the popularity of our strong slate of content which led to higher-than-expected acquisition across all major territories,” the company said in its earnings report.
While the subscriber numbers are impressive, the actual earning numbers are more in line with projections. Netflix and analysts projected that Netflix’s earnings would be about 16 cents per share on $2.76 billion in revenue. In actuality, Netflix’s earnings were 15 cents per share on $2.79 billion in revenue–basically in line with the projections.
Shares of Netflix jumped more than 10% in after-hours trading Monday, to an all-time high of more than $178 per share. As it turns out, all Wall Street cares about are the subscriber growth numbers. At the end of the day, subscriber growth is what is going to determine the fiscal success of Netflix.
In addition to their record subscriber growth, Netflix also received 91 nominations for the 2017 Emmy Awards–up from the 54 they received from the previous year. Netflix’s continued success with original programming clearly is a major draw for new subscribers, and has kept the streaming giant on a continued path of growth. If the reports from last quarter are any indication, Netflix has nothing to worry about.
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Netflix’s subscribers are surging as it blows away Wall Street’s expectations
