Netflix reports 75m subs
January 20, 2016
Streaming giant Netflix said its customer numbers surged more than expected last quarter, rising a record 5.59 million customers in the three months to December, bringing total member numbers to 74.76 million.
However, it said it missed its forecast for US subscriber growth – but its US-listed shares still shot up as much as 8 per cent in after hours trading.
Netflix said it was upbeat about the number of subscribers it expected to grow in the current quarter – forecasting growth of 6.10 million, up from 4.88 million the year earlier.
The firm Netflix said its global expansion plans would start by “primarily targeting outward‐looking, affluent consumers with international credit cards and smartphones.”
However, the streaming service, which gained global recognition for its programmes like House of Cards and Marvel’s Daredevil, said it was still trying to expand into China.
Furthermore, not all countries have access to the same content, with some countries being offered just 10 per cent of the content available to users in the US.
The firm said it had a long way to go before it could offer viewers the same films and shows everywhere.
Despite its growing subscriber numbers, Netflix’s profits fell in the three months to December from a year earlier, although it said its earnings numbers were still positive.
“On earnings, we stayed profitable in Q4 despite, foreign exchange headwinds, and delivered operating income of $60 million and net income of $43 million,” the company said in a statement.
The company’s shares have rocketed 124 per cent in the last 12 months.