(Boursier.com) — Netflix soars 15.5% before market on Wall Street, to the highest in its stock market history at more than $1,000, following the publication of a record quarter. The California-based video streaming giant posted its largest ever subscription gain, with 18.9 million new subscribers in the fourth quartervery clearly above expectations – more than double the consensus – with the live broadcast of sporting events and the new season of South Korean series ‘Squid Game’. The previous record dates from the Covid-19 period, with 15 million new subscribers in the first quarter of 2020… The overall number of subscribers now exceeds 300 million, also boosted by the repression of password sharing (+41 million over the past year). Netflix’s market capitalization is expected to exceed $400 billion today on the Nasdaq.
This is the last quarter for which Netflix will announce its quarterly subscription figures, while the group now intends to place emphasis on financial measures of performance. In fact, over the past quarter, revenues increased by 16% to $10.2 billion, above consensus. This is the group’s strongest growth since the end of 2021. Netflix takes the opportunity to slightly raise its revenue forecasts for the 2025 financial year. This year it anticipates a turnover of between 43.5 and 44.5 billion dollars, an increase of 14% at the top of the range, with an operating margin expected at 29% compared to 28% previously.
While it invests heavily in its programs, Netflix intends to further raise the price of its subscriptionsnotably in the United States, Canada, Portugal and Argentina. In the USA, the basic offer with advertisements will cost $7.99, compared to $6.99 per month previously (+14%), while the premium subscription will be increased by 9% to $24.99.
Netflix indicated that the programs offered in the fourth quarter exceeded its own ambitions, with in particular the boxing fight between YouTuber-boxer Jake Paul, 28, and Mike Tyson, 58which visibly thrilled the crowds – but perhaps not the boxing fans. The “match” thus became the most watched sporting event live online. According to research firm Antenna, cited by Bloomberg, the event allowed Netflix to post a record number of registrations in one dayeven eclipsing the first matches of the North American Professional American Football Championship (NFL) – including one that featured a halftime performance by Beyoncé. The platform had in fact offered two live NFL matches for the first time on Christmas Day. These are the most streamed NFL games in history.
-“Our new live programming has already delivered some must-see moments,” marveled Netflix. “While our live programming likely represents only a small percentage of our total viewing hours and content spend, we believe the event-driven nature will result in outsized value for both our members and our company,” adds the group.
For the fourth quarter just ended, Netflix achieved earnings per share of $4.27 compared to a consensus of $4.20. For the year, revenue grew 16% and operating margin climbed six points to 27%, while operating profit topped $10 billion for the first time. In Q4, this operating profit increased by 52%. The group ended the year with 302 million subscribers… For the quarter started, revenues are expected at $10.4 billion for earnings per share of $5.58, two measurements lower than expected market, which stood at $10.5 billion and $5.85 per security respectively.
