Netflix had a much better third quarter than it did second quarter, topping its own subscriber forecast and doubling Wall Street’s earnings expectations on a per-share basis.
As of September 30, 2016, the streaming giant boasted 86.74 million subscribers, beating the 85.48 million it had internally anticipated. Plus, the company made 12 cents per share in quarterly earnings, beating Wall Street’s consensus 6-cent estimate. Netflix touted originals “Narcos” and “Stranger Things” as big boosts to its programming slate during these three months measured.
The topline financial measurement missed expectations, however, coming out to $2.158 billion. Compare that to the $2.28 billion that Wall Street had forecast. Net Income was $52 million.
For a recent-history comparison, in 2015, Netflix’s Q3 yielded 8 cents of EPS. The company had added 3.62 million members then versus this quarter’s 3.57 million.
As a result of the good news, NFLX stock just jumped $20 per share in after-hours trading. Not a bad gain for 10 minutes of trading.
Executives will hold a conference call shortly to discuss the Q3 results. They’ll also probably talk about the company’s Monday-revealed decision to hold off on its China launch plans.
Expect Reed Hastings, Ted Sarandos and the gang to be in a better mood for this call. Last quarter was a big disappointment for the streaming giant, subscriber-wise.
At that time, the growth in subs fell 32 percent shy of expectations: Netflix had added just 1.68 million new members in the June 2016-ended quarter, concluding Q2 2016 with 83.18 million members.
The company will report its full-year earnings in January 2017. Netflix predicts 5.20 million net subscriber additions by then.