Netflix Shares Fall On Mixed Q4 Earnings

Netflix, Inc. NFLX shares dropped after reporting a fourth-quarter sales miss after Thursday's close.

Earnings

The streaming service giant reported fourth-quarter earnings of 30 cents per share, beating estimates by 4 cents. Sales came in at $4.19 billion, missing estimates by $20 million.

Netflix added 8.8 million global paid memberships during the quarter, which was ahead of estimates. The 1.5 million new U.S. subscribers also came in just ahead of estimates. Average paid memberships were up 26 percent year-over-year.

Weak guidance is weighing on shares, and while says it sees first-quarter global paid net additions of 8.9 million, first-quarter sales guidance of $.49 billion fell short of the $4.61 billion estimates.

Growing Content

In a letter to shareholders, Netflix said it's becoming less interested in second-run programming given the success the company is seeing with its original content.

"Our multi-year plan is to keep significantly growing our content while increasing our revenue faster to expand our operating margins," CEO Reed Hastings said in the letter.

The CEO also said the company's viral hit "Bird Box" is estimated to have reached over 80 million households and has seen high repeat viewership.

Netflix shares were down 3 percent at $342.5 in the after-hours session. The stock is up about 50 percent since Dec. 24.

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