Netflix disappoints expectations in the last quarter: the increase in subscribers has slowed the pace more than expected, after the leap achieved in the year of the pandemic. In the first three months of 2021, users of the king of streaming grew by 3.98 million compared to the expected 6.29 million. After the market, the stock, often volatile on the wave of results, lost more than 10 percent. Although in the last twelve months it has nevertheless increased by 26 percent.
Earnings and turnover above expectations
The group’s quarterly turnover rose to 7.16 billion from 6.64 billion, slightly above expectations of 7.13 billion. Net profits were 1.71 billion, compared to 542 million a year ago. They in turn beat the odds, reaching $ 3.75 per share against the $ 2.98 expected on the eve.
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Covid has damaged production
“We believe that the increase in paying subscribers has slowed down due to the acceleration that had occurred in 2020 and a lower supply of content in the first part of this year, linked to production delays in the face of Covid-19”, he said. know the Californian company. In the first quarter of 2020, Netflix had gained a whopping 15.8 million new subscribers. The company is also dealing with a climate of increasing competition in streaming, with the advent and growth of new protagonists in the last period, from Disney + to Hbo Max.
Collected in the second half of 2021
Netflix added that it expects a robust second half of 2021, with the return of hit series capable of attracting new audiences. This year it planned to spend over $ 17 billion on new content, more than about 12 billion last year, when, however, investments, already expected to be around 17 billion, had marked the pace under the weight of Covid. He also said that global streaming growth replacing traditional TV will remain the underlying trend over the longer term in the media and entertainment industry, even in the face of an economic recovery from the pandemic. In the short term, the second quarter of 2021, however, signaled further uncertainty: subscribers are expected to grow by only one million between April and June.