((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto)) by Dawn Chmielewski
Netflix NFLX.O added 18.9 million subscribers during its holiday quarter, beating Wall Street forecasts, with live sporting events and the return of its popular South Korean series “Squid Game” attracting a record number of new customers, the company reported Tuesday.
The streaming giant said it would continue to invest in programs loved by its members and increase the service's prices for most plans in the United States, Canada, Portugal and Argentina. In the United States, the basic ad-supported service will increase by $1 per month to $7.99, an increase of 14 percent, while the premium plan will cost $24.99, an increase of 9 percent.
Netflix said its fourth-quarter programming exceeded its internal expectations, with the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match becoming the most-watched sporting event and the two National Football League games on Christmas Day resulting in two of the most watched contests in league history.
The service also benefited from the second season of its dystopian thriller “Squid Game,” which the company says is poised to become one of its most-watched original series. The company has the lowest cancellation rate among subscription streaming services, with a churn rate of 1.8% in December, according to research firm Antenna.
This quarter is also where Netflix will report subscriber growth for the last time, with the company focusing on other performance indicators such as revenue and profit. – a change that analysts attribute to slowing subscriber growth.
-The company reported earnings per share of $4.27, beating Wall Street forecasts of $4.20 per share, based on the average of 34 analysts' projections. Annual operating profit exceeded $10 billion for the first time in the company's history.
Revenue rose 16% from the same period a year ago to $10.2 billion, compared to Wall Street's forecast of $10.1 billion for the quarter, according to LSEG.
“We enter 2025 with strong momentum,” Netflix said in its investor note, saying it added a record 41 million subscribers in 2024 and re-accelerated growth.
The company revised its forecast, projecting revenue of $43.5 billion to $44.5 billion in 2025, an increase of half a billion dollars from the previous forecast. The forecast update reflects improving business fundamentals, the company said.
