more users than expected
Netflix is growing strongly thanks to the “squid game.”
10/19/2021, 11:57 PM
After the streaming boom in the first year of the pandemic, enthusiasm for Netflix is clearly waning. But now users are coming back in large numbers. This is probably mainly because of the blockbuster of a South Korean series.
Netflix added 4.4 million new users between July and September. This not only exceeded the 1.5 million new subscribers in the second quarter, but also exceeded the 3.5 million delivered by the streaming service. By consensus, analysts were expecting 3.78 million new users.
During the pandemic-related lockdown in 2020, Netflix sold nearly 36.6 million subscriptions and had over 200 million subscribers. The company currently has 213.6 million users. Customer acquisition is generally slow during the summer months. In the third quarter of last year, the company recorded only 2.2 million new customers, which were below expectations. At the time, Netflix reported that the boom it was experiencing during the lockdown was easing.
In recent weeks, however, the streaming service has benefited from the success of the South Korean series “Squid Game,” a dystopian drama about heavily indebted people who participate in children’s games with a fatal outcome. The series debuted last month and quickly became a global phenomenon. The series went viral on social media, and online retailers are already offering squid game costumes for Halloween.
Netflix earned more than forecast, seeing higher-than-expected subscriber growth. The streaming giant posted net income of $1.45 billion, or $3.19 per share (former year: $1.74). Netflix had set a target of $2.55, the consensus with analysts being $2.57 per share. Revenue reached $7.48 billion (previous year: $6.44 billion), in line with both the company’s expectations and analysts’ consensus.
In the last three months of the year, Netflix now aims to attract 8.5 million subscribers. Analysts had previously expected 8.4 million. In after-hours trading, the stock gained 0.4 percent in its first reaction to the numbers.