(BFM Bourse) – The streaming service recorded more subscribers than the market expected in the fourth quarter. On Wall Street, the action opened sharply higher.
After returning to growth in the third quarter, Netflix turned the trial in the fourth. The streaming service reported higher-than-expected revenue and new subscriber hire Thursday night as Wall Street closed.
The market hails the performance of Netflix shares, gaining 6% at the start of the session on Wall Street.
Over the last quarter of the year, the group recorded revenues of 7.85 billion dollars, up 1.9% over one year, well above the group’s expectations, at 7.78 billion dollars. dollars and in line with the figure predicted by analysts.
Above all, the number of new subscribers defied forecasts, at 7.66 million, significantly higher than the 4.5 million anticipated by analysts according to Bloomberg.
“Netflix soars in the fourth quarter,” observes Michael Hewson of CMC Markets. “The question, given the strong rebound in the share price over the past few months, was whether Netflix would be able to deliver on its promises, and last night’s results answered that question with a resounding ‘yes’, as far as subscribers go, aided by content like the movie Knives Out, Glass Onion [Glass Onion : une histoire à couteaux tirés] and the surprise Addams Family spin-off, wednesday [Mercredi en version française, NDLR]“, he develops.
Cannibalization?
Wednesdayseries launched this winter, became the third most popular series since the creation of Netflix, while Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery became the fourth most viewed film. For its part, the documentary Meghan and Harry was the second most viewed documentary on the platform.
“2022 has been a tough year, with a bumpy start but a brighter end. We believe we have a clear path to accelerate our revenue growth: continue to improve all aspects of Netflix, launch paid sharing, and grow our advertising offer,” the company explained in a letter to its shareholders.
“With such an increase in subscribers, it is perhaps surprising that revenue has not been higher, suggesting that there may have been some cannibalization due to the rollout of the new service. of advertising”, nuance however Michael Hewson.
At the end of last year, the group launched subscriptions with advertisements at a lower price. In France this offer amounts to 5.99 euros per month against 13.5 euros for the standard version.
New organization
In addition, earnings per share were lower than expected, standing at 12 cents against 45 cents expected by analysts.
Regarding its outlook, Netflix has indicated that it wants to generate revenue up 4% over one year in the first quarter of 2023, and 8% excluding exchange rate variations. Analysts for their part expected growth limited to 3.7% over one year.
For 2023 as a whole, the group expects growth at constant exchange rates to accelerate over the year, expects to generate an operating margin of between 18% and 20% based on current exchange rates, compared to 17.8% in 2022, and intends to generate a free cash flow of at least 3 billion dollars, or almost double last year.
The group also announced Thursday evening a reorganization of its management, the founder Reed Hastings giving up his place of co-general manager to Greg Peters, alongside Ted Sarandos.
Julien Marion – ©2023 BFM Bourse
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