Netflix beats estimates with 8 million new subscribers
Subscriber gains driven by password-sharing crackdown and popular titles like "Bridgerton"
Revenue reached $9.56 billion, in line with estimates
Ad-supported tier subscribers rise 34% from prior quarter
By Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine
July 18 (Reuters) -Netflix NFLX.O said on Thursday it added more than 8 million subscribers in its second quarter as the streaming service benefited from a password-sharing crackdown and such titles as "Bridgerton," "Baby Reindeer" and "The Roast of Tom Brady."
The subscriber gains topped analyst predictions that Netflix would add about 5 million new customers from April through June. The new sign-ups brought the total number of global Netflix subscribers to more than 277 million.
The company reported diluted per-share earnings of $4.88, compared with consensus forecasts of $4.74 a share, according to LSEG. Revenue for the quarter reached $9.56 billion, in line with estimates.
Wall Street investors have been monitoring the growth of Neflix's ad-supported tier, which has been fueled by the company's crackdown on password-sharing, pricing increases for ad-free tiers and new consumer bundles, such as Comcast's CMCSA.O "StreamSaver" bundle, which combines Netflix with Peacock and Apple TV+.
Netflix said its ad tier membership grew 34% from the prior quarter, but it did not say how many subscribers chose that option.
"Our ad business is growing nicely and is becoming a more meaningful contributor to our business," Netflix said in its letter to investors. "But building a business from scratch takes time - and coupled with the large size of our subscription revenue - we don't expect advertising to be a primary driver of our revenue growth in 2024 or 2025."
The company said it expects third-quarter revenue growth of 14%, compared with a year ago. It cautioned that subscriber gains would be lower than the comparable period in 2023, which was the first full quarter to benefit from Netflix's crackdown on password-sharing.
Three years into its videogame initiative, Netflix said it planned to release a multiplayer game based on "Squid Game" later this year when it debuts Season Two of the dystopian Korean series. It also plans games tied to "Emily in Paris" and "Selling Sunset."
Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles
Editing by Matthew Lewis
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