Netflix (NFLX) has announced mixed financial results for the fourth quarter of 2023 but added 13.1 million net new subscribers in the period.
News of the subscriber growth, and a surge in sales, has Netflix stock up 10% in premarket trading today (Jan. 24).
For the October through December quarter, Netflix reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.11 U.S., which fell short of the $2.22 U.S. expected on Wall Street.
However, revenue in Q4 totaled $8.83 billion U.S., surpassing the $8.72 billion U.S. consensus expectation of analysts, according to data from LSEG. Sales were up 13% from a year earlier.
The subscriber growth topped Wall Street’s Q4 expectations for eight million to nine million net new additions.
Netflix now has 260.8 million subscribers worldwide, ahead of the 256 million that analysts expected.
The company also issued strong forward guidance, increasing its 2024 full-year operating margin forecast to 24%, up from a previous range of 22% to 23%.
In term of earnings, Netflix now expects EPS of $4.49 U.S. for the current first quarter of 2024, higher than the $4.10 U.S. anticipated on Wall Street.
The financial results were released on the same day that Netflix announced it will begin streaming professional wrestling on its platform in 2025, the company’s first move into live sports and entertainment.
Netflix’s financial results have improved in recent quarters after the company added paid advertisements to its streaming service and began to crackdown on password sharing among users of its platform.
Prior to today, the stock of Netflix had increased 35% over the last 12 months to trade at $492.19 U.S. per share.