Netflix stock slides as streaming giant falls short of revenue expectations

globalnews.ca:

Streaming video pioneer Netflix disappointed Wall Street on Wednesday with second-quarter revenue that fell short of analyst estimates, sending shares tumbling.

The revenue figure, along with a weaker-than-expected forecast for revenue in the third quarter, overshadowed the addition of 5.9 million new streaming customers from April through June and earnings that easily topped predictions.

Shares of Netflix were down 8.9% after the results at $435.

Netflix has been looking for new ways to make money as streaming competition intensifies and it nears market saturation in the United States. The company launched a cheaper tier with advertising last November, and started asking password borrowers to pay in a widespread crackdown that rolled out in May.

The company said it expected revenue growth to accelerate in the second half of the year, adding it aimed to continue to create compelling shows and movies, improve monetization, boost its video game business and make users’ experience better.

“While we’ve made steady progress this year, we have more work to do to reaccelerate our growth,” the company said in its quarterly letter to shareholders.

The company reported diluted earnings-per-share of $3.29 for the second quarter, ahead of the $2.86 consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

Its nearly 6 million subscriber additions outpaced the 1.9 million that Wall Street expected. Netflix had a total of 238.4 million subscribers worldwide as of the end of June.

Quarterly revenue climbed 2.7% from a year earlier to $8.2 billion, shy of analyst forecasts of $8.3 billion. The company estimated third-quarter revenue would hit $8.5 billion. Wall Street had been forecasting $8.7 billion.

Analyst Craig Huber of Huber Research