Remember the big news that Netflix was shedding subscribers faster than Vecna was gobbling up victims?
That was so last quarter.
Last this afternoon, the streaming giant reported its third-quarter earnings, and the results are above their bold forecast.
In a classic case of under-promising and over-delivering, Netflix added 2.41 million subscribers from July to September 2022., which doubles the 1 million new subscribers the company had predicted.
Netflix also pulled in $7.93 billion in revenue versus the $7.85 billion expected.
In a letter to its shareholders, the company said:
After a challenging first half, we believe we’re on a path to reaccelerate growth. The key is pleasing members. It’s why we’ve always focused on winning the competition for viewing every day. When our series and movies excite our members, they tell their friends, and then more people watch, join and stay with us.
And a challenging first half it was. Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter and close to a million in the second. Its stock plummeted to close to 70% of its value. As a result, the streamer laid off 450 people from its staff of nearly 11,000 employees.
But strange things occurred over the past month that helped Netflix grow to 223 million subscribers worldwide. The company attributed its rebound to the success of shows such as “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” “Stranger Things: Season 4,” “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” and “Purple Hearts.”
Netflix also noted the advantage they have over competitors who are newer to the streaming game, writing:
“Our competitors are investing heavily to drive subscribers and engagement, but building a large, successful streaming business is hard – we estimate they are all losing money, with combined 2022 operating losses well over $10 billion, vs. Netflix’s $5 to $6 billion annual operating profit.”
Hopefully, some of those jobs lost will be able to come back.
