Netflix Meets Earnings Expectations and Continues to Grow Subscription Base
Netflix reported earnings after the bell and hit on expectations. The company reported EPS of $0.41 and revenue of $3.286 billion. The streaming service did add far more customers than expected during the holiday season. Netflix gained 8.3 million subscribers globally, making Q4 a particularly strong quarter.
After the strong investor relations report, shares jumped more than 8% after hours. For the first time, Netflix's market capitalization passed $100 billion.
According to Daniel Ives, the Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Technology Research at GBH Insights, the media world is Netflix's oyster. The streaming company's biggest competition at this point is Hulu. However, Ives feels strongly about the potential future growth for Netflix heading further into 2018.
Netflix made other announcements during their earnings report. The company plans to raise capital in the high yield market. They also intend to grow their technology and development investments to over $1.3 billion. Netflix will spend between $1.7 and $8 billion on content in 2018.
The Food and Drug Administration is asking Congress for new powers, including the ability to mandate drug recalls and require eyedrop makers to undergo inspections before shipping products to the U.S.
The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday for a third straight time, and its officials signaled that they expect to make three quarter-point cuts to their benchmark rate next year.
Eliott Wellenbach, vice president and institutional ETF strategist with Direxion, joined Cheddar News to discuss what traders are expecting from consumer spending ahead of the holidays and how they're positioning themselves following the latest inflation data and mortgage rates.