Tech

Netflix plummets after missing big on subscriber growth

Key Points
  • Netflix missed its subscriber addition projections for the first time in five quarters, leading shares to tumble.
  • Domestic subscriber additions: 674,000 vs. 1.23 million subscribers estimated, per FactSet and Street Account
  • International subscriber additions: 4.47 million subscribers vs. 5.11 million subscribers estimated, per FactSet and Street Account
Netflix' shares tumble on subscriber 'hiccup': Analyst
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Netflix' shares tumble on subscriber 'hiccup': Analyst

Netflix missed its subscriber addition projections for the first time in five quarters, leading shares to tumble more than 14 percent at one point in after hours trading Monday.

The company reported second-quarter earnings after the market closed on Monday. In addition to a slight miss on revenue compared to estimates, Netflix posted a huge miss on subscriber additions. The company only added 5.15 million subscribers, about one million less than forecast. Domestic additions were only a little more than half of its projections, while it just added 4.5 million subscribers internationally.

In premarket trading Tuesday, the shares were down 11 percent.

Netflix reported:

  • Revenue: $3.91 billion vs. $3.94 billion estimated, according to a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate.
  • Domestic subscriber additions: 674,000 vs. 1.23 million subscribers estimated, per FactSet and Street Account
  • International subscriber additions: 4.47 million subscribers vs. 5.11 million subscribers estimated, per FactSet and Street Account
  • Earnings per share (EPS): 85 cents (including $85 million in non-cash unrealized gain). It was not immediately clear if Netflix's reported EPS was comparable with a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of 79 cents.

Some analysts were worried the company could not sustain its share price growth, which is over 100 percent year-to-date. They also raised concerns as competitors like Amazon ramp up their streaming efforts, while others like Disney and AT&T are prepared to invest in more digital content. Netflix is expected to spend up to $8 billion this year on 700 original series.

Netflix also issued a weaker guidance for the third quarter than expected, saying it is expecting to add 5 million subscribers total compared to an analyst estimate of more than 6 million. It is projecting 650,000 new subscribers in the U.S. and 4.35 million internationally.

Correction: Netflix missed on revenue, reporting $3.91 billion vs. $3.94 billion expected. That distinction was misstated in a previous version of this story.