Netflix Beats Expectations Across The Board In Q4

Netflix Inc NFLX bested its international subscriber growth goals, increasing global streaming subscribers by 20% year over year, while beating analysts EPS and revenue estimates for the fourth quarter.

The company reported quarterly earnings of $1.30 per share, which may not compare to analysts' estimate of 53 cents. The company reported quarterly sales of $5.47 billion, topping analysts' expectations of $5.45 billion. Sales were up 30.64% over the same period last year.

Average revenue per user in streaming was up 9% year over year, the company said.

Netflix bested its forecast and Street expectations on paid net subscriber adds, which were 8.8 million in the quarter, ahead of the company's expectations of 7.6 million net adds.

Streaming Wars Heat Up

The subscription success came even as the company faced more competition for streaming viewers over the past few months than it ever has, with new streaming services from Apple Inc. AAPL and Walt Disney Co. DIS starting up.

"We had a strong finish to 2019, with Q4 revenue growing 31% year over year, bringing full year 2019 revenue to over $20 billion, while FY19 operating income rose 62% to $2.6 billion," the company said in a note to shareholders. "During the quarter, we surpassed 100 million paid memberships outside of the US.

"Streaming entertainment is a global phenomenon and we’re working hard to build on our early progress," the company said. Netflix projects a gain of 7 million paid subscribers in the first quarter, which is short of the 7.82 million estimate.

Netflix stock closed Tuesday at $338.11 per share.

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