Netflix’s subscribers increased by 7.66 million in the fourth quarter of last year, surpassing 230 million as of the end of last year.
Netflix released a statement on the 19th (local time) and released its fourth-quarter 2022 results.
According to Reuters, Netflix’s new subscribers exceeded Wall Street’s estimate of 4.57 million in the fourth quarter, and global members reached 231 million as of the end of December.
Netflix explained that the number of subscribers increased as the drama “Wednesday”, the movie “Knives Out: Glass Onion” and the documentary “Harry and Meghan” by Prince Harry couple became popular.
Netflix launched a cheap advertising plan in November last year, and Wall Street has been paying attention to how the plan will be reflected in its performance.
However, Netflix did not provide figures on the current status of subscribers to the advertising plan and whether they contributed to the increase in membership in this earnings announcement.
Sales in the fourth quarter of last year rose 19% year-on-year to $7.85 billion, meeting market expectations.
However, net profit was USD 55 million and net profit per share was USD 12 cents, down significantly from earnings a year ago (net profit of USD 607 million and net profit of USD 1.33 per share).
In response, CNBC analyzed, “Although earnings per share were far off market expectations (45 cents) due to exchange losses in euro-denominated debt, the company’s margin still showed 7%, exceeding Wall Street expectations.”
Netflix shares closed at USD 315.78, down 3.23% from the regular market, but surged nearly 8% in after-hours trading after the earnings announcement.
CEO Hastings, who founded Netflix, stepped down from the management front after announcing his earnings on the same day.
He will step down as CEO and head the streaming company.
In a statement, Hastings compared challenges that took place during his tenure, such as the COVID-19 incident and the decrease in subscribers in the first half of last year, to “unblessed,” saying, “The executives and employees have done incredibly well, and now is the right time to succeed.”
Ted Surandos, CEO and Greg Peters, Chief Operating Officer (COO), who had led the company with Hastings, were appointed as co-CEOs.
Bella Verzaria, the representative of the global TV business, was nominated as the chief content officer.
Reuters reported that Netflix’s 10-year management succession plan has been completed, and that Hastings left with the results of adding subscribers in the fourth quarter of last year.
