The stock was down 25% on Tuesday, in electronic trading after the close of the New York Stock Exchange.
To recover the situation, the pioneer of the sector counts above all press the screw next to the ID and password sharingwhich allows many people not to pay to access the platform.
I invest more and more in content production not to give too much ground to the competition, such as Disney +, which has been a success since its launch in late 2019.
“We know that (the loss of subscribers) is disappointing for our investors, and it is disappointing, of course, but (…) we are determined to achieve these goals and get them back.said Reed Hastings, the company’s co-founder, during the analyst’s call.
Netflix has had inflated figures during the Covid-19 pandemic. The market was expecting a correction, but not as strong.
The industry pioneer planned to gain an additional 2.5 million subscribers – and analysts expected even more – but instead lost, reducing its total to 221.64 million subscriptions.
This decline was partly caused by suspension of service in Russia, which resulted in a net loss of 700,000 subscriptions. “Without that impact, we would have had an additional 500,000 subscriptionscompared to last quarter, Netflix said in its earnings statement.
No more sharing your free account
Netflix loves that more than 100 million households do not pay subscriptions. “We just need to make sure they pay at least in part for the service they lovesaid Reed Hastings.
In early March, the group launched tests in South American countries to charge its customers for adding additional profiles to their account. The platform plans to install this system in its main markets within a year.
“We’re not trying to prevent people from sharing, but we’ll ask you to pay a little more to do so.“Summarized Greg Peters, Chief Operating Officer.
The company does not want to affect another measure, known as “engagement”, that is, the time users spend watching movies and series.
In this sense, “we are doing very well,” said CEO Ted Sarandos, referring to a successful film and series: “we have to have a “Project Adam” and a “Bridgerton” every month so that the service always lives up to expectations“.
“Its streaming market share remains incredibly high, which puts the company in a good position to fight the competition.points out Robert Cantwell of Upholdings.
To the United States, Netflix attracts 73.8% of users of video-on-demand servicessecond behind YouTube (95.8%) and ahead of Amazon (63.8%), according to eMarketer.
But tech giants like Amazon and Apple can “broadcast their content at a loss,” says Robert Cantwell.
Pubs and video games
In all, Netflix grossed $ 7.9 billion from January to Marchin other words, almost 10% more than a year ago, mainly due to the increase in the number of subscribers in one year (+ 6.7%) and the increase in their prices.
But the company saw its net profit fall to $ 1.6 billion from $ 1.7 billion in the first quarter of 2021.
It now plans to offer cheaper subscriptions, with advertising, in a year or two.
“Clearly it works for Hulucommented Reed Hastings. “If you want the option without ads, it will still be possible. If you prefer to pay less and tolerate ads, there will also be an offer for you. ”
To diversify its sources of revenue, Netflix has also entered the lucrative video game market. In September, the company bought its first video game studio, Night School Studio, a California start-up. And in November, it released several mobile games for its subscribers, including some inspired by the universe of the sci-fi and horror series “Stranger Things.”
The CFO also announced that spending growth should be slowed down, both in terms of content and other budgets.