Netflix fourth quarter earnings: Shares fall 20% due to slowing subscriber growth

In its fourth-quarter earnings report on Thursday, Netflix reported a plunge in its shares with more than 20% in after-hours trading. This was streamer beat's lowest levels since June 2020, on slowing subscriber growth. Meanwhile, the application added 8.28 million global paid net subscribers in the fourth quarter. 

Netflix has said it expects to add 2.5 million subscribers during the first quarter of 2022, far below the 3.98 million it added in Q1 2021. Meanwhile, analysts had expected 6.93 million in the first quarter, according to StreetAccount estimates. As per Netflix, it has planned for a more back-end weighted content slate in the first quarter, with big premieres set for March.

Netflix's high-performing contents

During this quarter, Netflix released high-performing content such as “Emily in Paris,” “Don’t Look Up,” “Red Notice” and “You.” On the other side, Disney and Roku shares also dipped more than 4% in after-hours trading. Last week, Netflix announced price increases in the U.S. and Canada. In the United States, the monthly cost for the basic plan rose $1 to $9.99. The standard plan jumped from $13.99 to $15.49 and the premium plan rose from $17.99 to $19.99.

The application has also updated investors on its push into gaming. The company has been releasing games based on its popular titles to its subscribers. The new games may help it gain insight into which characters are most popular, which could eventually help shape its content.

Sensex sinks 634 Pts to end below 60k

Falling for the third straight session, equity benchmark Sensex tumbled 634 points on Thursday to close below 60,000-mark, tracking losses in index majors Infosys, TCS and RIL amid a fresh sell-off in European markets. The continued flight of foreign capital from Indian markets also affected the market sentiment, traders said. The 30-share BSE index ended 634.20 points or 1.06 per cent lower at 59,464.62. Similarly, the NSE Nifty plunged 181.40 points or 1.01 per cent to 17,757.00.

Bajaj Finserv was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 4.57 per cent, followed by Infosys, TCS, Sun Pharma, HCL Tech, HUL, Dr Reddy’s, HDFC and Reliance Industries. On the other hand, PowerGrid, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Maruti and ICICI Bank were among the gainers.