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Netflix added a robust 8mn new subscribers in the second quarter thanks to hit shows such as Baby Reindeer and Bridgerton, lifting the streaming service’s revenue and earnings past Wall Street forecasts.
The new subscriber sign-ups were the most in a second quarter since 2020, when Netflix saw explosive growth during the pandemic. But the company warned that new subscriber additions in the current quarter would be lower than a year ago, when its crackdown on password sharing went into full effect. Its shares fell 4 per cent in after-hours trading.
Earnings rose 48 per cent to $4.88 per share on revenue of $9.5bn, beating forecasts.
Netflix said its advertising tier now accounts for 45 per cent of sign-ups in markets where it is available, but it doesn’t expect it to be a “primary driver of revenue growth” until 2024 or 2025. Sign-ups to the advertising tier rose 34 per cent from the previous quarter.
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