Netflix share price soars after membership passes 60m
Netflix's share price soared by 13 per cent in early trading in New York on Wednesday after the company announced it had surpassed 60m global users.
The video streaming website's seemingly unstoppable growth was enough for investors to ignore earnings per share of 38 cents that came in much lower than the expected 63 cents per share. Netflix's stock has grown 40 per cent so far in 2015, with investors convinced of the company's long-term profitability.
Profits in the first quarter fell to $24m – a 55 per cent drop from a year ago however, a 24 per cent rise in revenue to $1.57bn was in line with analyst's predictions.
Following the stock's surge, Netflix now has a larger market value than traditional TV players such as CBS, Viacom and Newscorp at $32bn.
Netflix has offered its users a number of exclusive and original content including Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul, Bloodline and Daredevil during the quarter, which attracted 4.9m subscribers – an increase on the 4.3m who joined in the previous quarter.
A figure of concern is the $9.8bn costs in streaming obligations holding back profits. The company has warned investors it could make losses as it continues to expand, but insists the spending will lead to market dominance and big profits further down the line.
On today's evidence, though, investors seem to be buying it.