Coverage: Netflix shares rise on strong subscriber growth

Netflix shares surged as much as 9 percent in late trading after the company posted subscriber numbers that crushed its own guidance.

Christine Wang of CNBC.com had the news:

The stock was last seen near $144, about 8 percent higher in extended trade on Wednesday as more than 3 million shares changed hands.

The company said it added 7.05 million subscribers during the fiscal fourth quarter. Not only was that figure well above its own expectations of 5.2 million, but Netflix said it was the largest-ever quarterly subscriber growth in its history.

For the quarter, Netflix added 1.93 million memberships in the U.S. and 5.12 million internationally. Those figures came in well above the streaming giant’s forecast that it would add 1.45 million subscribers in the U.S. and 3.75 million subscribers internationally.

Analysts expected subscriber numbers to come in slightly below those levels, about 1.44 million in the U.S. and 3.73 million internationally, according to StreetAccount consensus estimates.

Mike Snider of USA Today noted the strong shows that boosted the growth:

During the quarter several of Netflix’s original shows including “pretty powerful releases” such as Narcos,  Luke Cage, The Crown and Gilmore Girls appealed to viewers globally, said Ted Sarandos, the company’s chief content officer, during a conference call Wednesday with analysts. And new series The 3%, a Portuguese-language release filmed in Brazil, performed well and made “Netflix feel a lot more local” in Latin America, also attracted viewers in the U.S., as well, he said.

Overall, Netflix now has 89.09 million paying members worldwide, and by adding more than 7 million members total during the quarter, grew its membership to 93.8 million members globally (those numbers include members using the service on a trial basis before paying monthly fees). Overall, Netflix added 19 million new members globally, compared to 17.4 million in 2015.

The October-December quarter marked the 10th anniversary of Netflix’s streaming debut — remember initially it rented DVDs — and resulted in Netflix’s largest ever increase in net additions, the company said.

For the January-March 2017 quarter, Netflix forecasted slightly slower uptick of 5.2 million global additions, down from the 6.7 million gained in Q1 2016.

Therese Poletti of MarketWatch.com noted Netflix is poised to become bigger overseas than in the U.S.:

Netflix enjoyed its biggest quarter for new customers yet, adding 7.05 million net new members globally in the quarter, easily topping its forecast of 5.2 million. In fact, it added almost as many international subscribers as its total expectations, with an additional 5.12 million people signing up for the service overseas in three months.

In the U.S., where it has a far more saturated customer base, it also showed good growth, adding 1.93 million members in the quarter, exceeding its forecast of 1.45 million, fueled in part by much of its original and exclusive content. At the end of 2016, Netflix claimed 93.8 million total customers, with 44.37 million of those outside the U.S., part of a strong growth year for the company.

Jan Dawson, chief analyst of Jackdaw Research, said in an email that he believes the company’s international subscriber base, which reached 47% of total subscribers this quarter, should outpace the U.S. base for the first time this year.

“International streaming subscribers are likely to pass U.S. subscribers sometime around midyear, perhaps even by the end of the second quarter,” he predicted.