Netflix Inc. is navigating a transition from focusing on subscriber growth to maximizing earnings through price hikes, an ad-supported service and a crackdown on shared accounts as it nears its fiscal third-quarter earnings report on Oct. 18.
In July, Netflix reported an increase in subscribers of a surprising 5.9 million — blowing past analysts’ average estimate of 1.82 million — but third-quarter revenue guidance was light, with executives forecasting $8.52 billion, while analysts on average were expecting $8.66 billion. Venkateshwar added: “In addition, early advertising growth expectations are now being walked back, a risk we had flagged last year at the time of the ad tier roll out.”
“We believe that the linear TV ecosystem will begin to win back subscribers over the next 2-3 years, after the cable companies aggregate the major OTT services into their bundle,” Needham’s Laura Martin said in an Oct. 9 note that maintains a hold on Netflix shares. Stock movement: Shares of Netflix have climbed 21% this year, most of that in the last six months. The S&P 500 SPX is up 14% in 2023.