Netflix shares surge 14% on strong subscriber growth
Netflix showed resilience by gaining more quarterly subscribers than in the past three years despite strikes by Hollywood's writers and actors, sending its shares up 14.5% on Thursday.
Netflix capitalized on its heft in global production, as well as the economic hardships of its media rivals, to garner 247 million subscribers in the third quarter, a gain of nearly 9 million over the last three months.
It was the greatest gain since the COVID-19 outbreak fueled unprecedented growth in early 2020.
Netflix shares rose to $396.20, putting them on course for the biggest one-day percentage gain in nearly three years, with the company on track to add more than $22 billion to its market capitalization.
«The management deserves an Emmy for managing investor expectations,» Bernstein analysts wrote in a note, adding that paid-sharing has opened up a bigger-than-expected market of potential subscribers for Netflix.
Results from media rivals such as Walt Disney, Paramount Global and Warner Bros Discovery will show the impact of the industry's months-long work stoppage, which began in May with strike by Hollywood's writers.
Members of the Writers Guild of America settled this month, though actors, who walked off the job in July, remain on strike.
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broadcast networks filled their fall lineups with repeats and reality shows, while rival streaming services delayed releases and had less foreign-language programs than Netflix, which could produce in more than 50 countries and languages.
«Due to its large international presence, Netflix is positioned better than most entertainment companies in plugging programming gaps from the writers' and actors' strikes,» said Insider Intelligence principal analyst Ross Benes.
«With original
