Netflix subscribers base hit 282.7 million

Netflix’s stock closed up 11% on Friday after the media streaming giant reported third-quarter profits and sales that surpassed projections. The streaming platform posted an earnings per share of $5.40 for the three-month period ended September 30, which was higher than the $5.12 LSEG average estimate.

Furthermore, revenue of $9.83 billion instead of $9.77 billion surpassed experts’ forecasts.

Netflix now has 282.7 million users overall and 5.1 million new members. Ad-supported memberships increased by 35% per quarter. Although management does not anticipate advertising becoming a major revenue driver until 2026, it does plan to expand the service to Canada this quarter, with a more extensive expansion scheduled for 2025.

Crucially, Netflix’s ad-supported subscription tier increased by 35% every quarter. Although it does not expect ads to become its primary source of growth until 2026, Netflix reported that more than 50% of sign-ups in the third quarter in the countries where it is available were from the ad tier.

Additionally, Netflix provided a positive forecast for the December quarter, predicting a 14.7% increase in fourth-quarter revenue to $10.13 billion. From its projected revenue of $38.9 billion in 2024, it is projecting revenue of $43 billion to $44 billion in 2025, or an 11% to 13% increase.

According to Netflix, its subscribers use the service for at least two hours daily. More than 50% of signups are on the ad-supported service, which has increased by 35% per quarter.