Netflix shares crater 23% after company reports it lost subscribers for the first time in more than 10 years
CNBC
Shares of Netflix cratered more than 23% on Tuesday after the company reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers during the first quarter.
It’s the first time the streamer has reported a subscriber loss in more than a decade.
Netflix blamed increased competition, password sharing as well as inflation and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine for the stagnant subscriber growth.
Shares of Netflix cratered more than 23% on Tuesday after the company reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers during the first quarter. It’s the first time the streamer has reported a subscriber loss in more than a decade. The company also said it expects the losses to continue, forecasting a global paid subscriber loss of 2 million for the second quarter.
Here are the key numbers:
EPS: $3.53 vs $2.89, according to a Refinitiv survey of analysts.
Revenue: $7.78 billion vs $7.93 billion, according to a Refinitiv survey of analysts.
Global paid net subscriber additions: A loss of 200,000 compared with 2.73 million adds expected, according to StreetAccount estimates.
Netflix previously told shareholders it expected to add 2.5 million net subscribers during the first quarter. Analysts had predicted that number would be closer to 2.7 million. During the same period a year ago, Netflix added 3.98 million paid users.
The company said that the suspension of its service in Russia and the winding-down of all Russian paid memberships resulted in a loss of 700,000 subscribers. Excluding that impact, the company said it would have seen 500,000 net additions during the most recent quarter. Additionally, Netflix blamed growing competition from traditional entertainment companies that have launched streaming services, as well as password sharing for recent stagnant growth in paid subscriptions.
