In This Article:
(Bloomberg) -- Netflix Inc. closed 2024 with its biggest quarterly subscriber gain in history, buoyed by its first major live sporting events and the return of Squid Game.
Most Read from Bloomberg
-
Texas HOA Charged With Discrimination for Banning Section 8 Renters
-
How Sanctuary Cities Are Preparing for Another Showdown With Trump
-
LA Schools Wrecked by Fires Plead on GoFundMe for Help to Reopen
The company added 18.9 million customers in the fourth quarter, according to a shareholder letter Tuesday. That was more than double what Wall Street expected and brought global subscribers at Netflix to more than 300 million. The company’s previous best was 15 million in the first quarter of 2020 — numbers driven by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
This is the final time Netflix will report quarterly subscriber numbers. The company’s stock has historically risen and fallen based on customer additions, but management is trying to get investors to prioritize financial metrics like sales and profit. The company reported revenue grew 16% to $10.2 billion for the quarter, the biggest gain since late 2021, and said sales will grow faster than predicted in 2025.
Netflix will boost sales by increasing prices in its home market. The company is raising prices in the US, Canada, Portugal and Argentina, with the most popular US plan going to $17.99 a month, an increase of $2.50. Netflix is also increasing the cost of its cheaper advertising-supported plan.
For the year, the company projects revenue of as much as $44.5 billion, a gain of 14% from the year just ended, with an operating margin of 29%.
Shares of the streaming leader rose as much as 15% to $997.85 in extended trading after the results were announced. That would mark a new all-time high if it holds in regular trading on Wednesday.
Netflix will stop reporting subscriber figures following a surge in new customers from its crackdown on password sharing. Analysts and investors had expected the benefits from that effort to wear off by now, but Netflix just posted its single best year ever in terms of subscriber additions, netting 41 million new customers.
The company credited a mix of programming, including the hit movie Carry-On and the second season of Squid Game, its most popular series ever. The company said no program accounted for a majority of its additions.
Yet a boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson delivered a record number of sign-ups for one day, according to the research firm Antenna, dwarfing even Netflix’s first National Football League games. The second of those games featured a halftime performance by Beyoncé.