Netflix sign-ups slump as pandemic restrictions ease

Netflix’s subscriber growth has slowed dramatically after surging earlier this year, fuelled by pandemic lockdowns that corralled millions of people in their homes.

The slump came as more people sought distraction from the pandemic outdoors and major US professional sports resumed play, offering other entertainment alternatives to the world’s most popular video streaming service.

The drop-off disclosed Tuesday in Netflix’s latest earnings report was more dramatic than management had warned it might be.

After picking up 2.2 million customers in the July-September period, Netflix finished the quarter with 195.2 million worldwide subscribers. Earlier, the company had forecast an addition of 2.5 million subscribers during the quarter.

Even so, Netflix is still ahead for the year. It has added 28 million subscribers through the first nine months of the year — locking in the company’s largest annual increase in its history.

But the momentum seems to be tapering off, based on the trends Netflix is seeing. The company is projecting a gain of six million subscribers in the October-December period, down from 8.8 million last year. Analysts were expecting Netflix to project a gain of 6.4 million subscribers for the final quarter of this year.

The influx of new subscribers has helped boost its stock by 59 per cent so far this year. But shares of Netflix fell $US28.53, or 5.4 per cent to $US496.89 in after-hours trading after the results came out.

Wall Street generally still sees big things ahead for California-based Netflix, with its video streaming service poised to surpass 200 million subscribers soon.

Even with the slowdown, Netflix’s popularity has spurred speculation whether the company may soon raise its US monthly subscription prices by another dollar or two in the US, as it recently did in Canada earlier this month. The company recently stopped offering free one-month trials in the US, a move some analysts viewed as a precursor to a potential price increase. Netflix’s most popular US plan costs $US13 ($17) a month.

The company has periodically raised its prices to help pay for the original programming that has helped turn it into a cultural phenomenon in the face of intensifying competition from even bigger rivals such as Amazon and Apple. Higher prices also help boost Netflix’s profit, which have remained relatively modest in light of its video service’s widening appeal.

The company earned $US790 million, or $US1.74 per share, in the third quarter, up 19 per cent from $US665m, or $US1.47 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue climbed 22.5 per cent to $US6.44 billion from $US5.24b.

Analysts were expecting earnings of $US2.13 per share and revenue of $US6.39b, according to a poll by FactSet.

Netflix said as the world “hopefully recovers” from COVID-19 in 2021, it expects its subscriber growth to revert back to pre-pandemic levels. That means growth will be much slower in the first half of next year than it was this year.

AP