Netflix shares pop on new subscriptions, CEO swap

[Shawn Knight]

In a nutshell: Netflix got off to a bumpy start in 2022 but finished the year on a high note. For the fourth quarter ending December 31, Netflix generated $7.85 billion in revenue. That's a modest gain of just 1.9 percent year over year but it's better than going in the wrong direction. Diluted earnings per share checked in at $0.12.

Full year 2022 revenue was $31.62 billion with $4.5 billion in net income and diluted earnings per share of $11.24.

Netflix managed to add 7.66 million paid subscribers during the holiday season, pushing the total number of paid memberships to 230.75 million. The launch of Netflix's lower-priced ad-supported tier in November no doubt played a role here, with the company saying it was pleased with the offering's early results. Unfortunately for the curious among us, Netflix did not disclose what portion of its subscribers are signed up for the ad-supported tier so it is tough to gauge (as an outsider) just how successful it is.

Content is king and Netflix had plenty of good shows and movies to watch in 2022. Season four of Stranger Things hit one billion hours viewed, as did the new series Wednesday starring Jenna Ortega. Other hits included Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Purple Hearts, Harry & Meghan, and The Adam Project.

The streaming video giant also revealed that co-founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings has transitioned to executive chairman. Joining Ted Sarandos will continue as co-CEO alongside Greg Peters, who is stepping up from his previous role as chief operating officer.

Shares in Netflix hit a high mark near the end of 2021 at nearly $700 but things turned south in a hurry in 2022 and by June, those same shares were trading around $175. The recovery since last summer has been pretty steady with shares currently trading at $337.21 as of this writing. That includes an increase of nearly seven percent based on today's news.

Image credit: John-Mark Smith, Simone Daino

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https://www.techspot.com/news/97332-netflix-shares-pop-new-subscriptions-ceo-swap.html

 

[wiyosaya]

WTF? Netflix did not go broke and added over 7 million subscribers?

 

[NintPlayBox]

This is further proof Netflix is the king of streaming services!

 

[toooooot]

If they stopped feeding viewers with their political views, the gains would be so much better.
The content that 2% enjoys for all of the viewers... People want entertaining not preachy lectures on racial issues and oppression.

 

[mcclurken]

I kept a Netflix subscription going from 2008 to 2022. I thought about cancelling it many times due to the lack of value for the ever increasing price (the value will be different for everybody, obviously) - but the social propaganda finally pushed me over the edge to cancel and I have not missed it. They can have cheaper tiers and it doesn't matter to me because the cost was never really a problem, rather the lack of value for that cost was and the ever degrading quality of the content is at issue. The content quality is an industry-wide problem in my view.

 

[NumberSix]

I only share my password with my eldest daughter who lives independently but has some disabilities, once the sharing ban comes in to play I'll be cancelling, it is terrible value compared to other services anyway.

 

[TedBear]

I keep it only because I pay a fraction of what normal people pay since I have a foreign account. Despite Apple's small catalog, they usually have better shows. HBO sometimes has good ones but also politically motivated ones. So it's a flip of the coin. Same with Prime. But most of my watch time is spent downloading foreign movies not normally available to US markets because they don't have political messages. Many focus on good storylines. Netflix cherry-picks its foreign content that fits its ideology but isn't a good example of what is available in other parts of the world.

 

[wiyosaya]

If they stopped feeding viewers with their political views, the gains would be so much better.
The content that 2% enjoys for all of the viewers... People want entertaining not preachy lectures on racial issues and oppression.

Netflix is doing well just as they are. With the number of subscribers they added in the time period covered by the article, they don't need to change. Maybe they could do better if they were to change their content substance, but I think they realize that they do not need to do so. IMO, most of the world's problems can be traced to a general trait of wanting it all at any cost.

You certainly have the option not to subscribe, or drop your subscription, if you don't like the content. However, you have just one viewpoint representative of what you would like. In the meantime, there are people that like to be inspired with a showcase of diversity where the diversity is a source of strength and encouragement. Humanity does better when people communicate, cooperate, and use the differences between individuals as strength. And, believe it or not, there are people that do not see diversity as a source of threat.

Obviously, if you look back at all the other posts about Netflix over the past year or two, the cliche "Go Woke Go Broke" was nowhere near panning out for Netflix, and it likely never will be.