Netflix expected to report record numbers
January 18, 2018
By Chris Forrester
Analysts at New York-based BH Insights have said they expect Netflix to report net subscriber growth for its December 4th quarter-year of some 7 million, and better than consensus expectations of 6.3 million. Netflix will deliver its numbers on January 22nd.
Daniel Ives, GBH Insights’ head of technology research, explained that the numbers would likely exceed Wall Street’s expectations for subscriber growth. Moreover, Netflix will continue its growth through 2020 as it rolls out its OTT services to more international markets.
GBH raised its share price target for Netflix from the current $235 per share, to $255.
Ives added that he expected Netflix to boost its spend on original and acquired content from $7 billion to nearer $8 billion this year, and that the investment would represent a 50 percent spend on original material for the year, up from 25 per cent in 2017.
“With more consumer dollars shifting away from traditional cable with cord cutting and towards streaming delivery, we believe Netflix has a long runway of growth and opportunity ahead of itself and clear first mover advantage despite intense competition from larger media players (Disney), pure play competitors, and new potential entrants (e.g. Apple),” Ives added.