This Jan. 29, 2010, file photo shows the company logo and view of Netflix headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif. Netflix's normally lighthearted Twitter account took on a more somber tone on Saturday, May 30, 2020: "To be silent is to be complicit. Black lives matter. We have a platform, and we have a duty to our Black members, employees, creators and talent to speak up." (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
By Michael Liedtke and Tali Arbel
Netflix added a flood of new subscribers amid the coronavirus pandemic and also offered clues to a possible successor for founding CEO Reed Hastings, who on Thursday named the company's chief content officer, Ted Sarandos, as co-CEO.
"Ted has been my partner for decades. This change makes formal what was already informal — that Ted and I share the leadership of Netflix," said Hastings in a statement.
The company picked up 10.1 million worldwide subscribers during the April-June period, more than triple what it usually adds in that period.
The increase announced Thursday with Netflix's second-quarter earnings eclipsed the gain of 8.3 million subscribers projected among analysts polled by FactSet. Netflix ended June with 193 million worldwide subscribers, including 70 million in the U.S. and Canada, its largest geographic market.
Nearly 26 million of those subscribers have joined Netflix during the first six months of this year — more than double the number compared with last year — as the pandemic curtailed travel and even nights out on the town. The restrictions have turned out to be a boon for Netflix, which also faces a slew of new streaming competitors such as Disney Plus and HBO Max.
Netflix Inc., however, said its subscriber growth has begun to slow after it added just 2 million fewer customers in the past six months as it did for all of 2019. It forecasts just 2.5 million new additions for the current quarter.
The pandemic has shut down Hollywood, limiting the ability of TV and movie studios to produce more entertainment to feed Netflix and other video streaming services. That could limit their appeal if viewers run out of new things to watch. Netflix said Thursday that it is slowly resuming production, mostly in Asia and Europe, and its 2020 lineup remains intact. Shooting delays mean big shows and movies slated for next year will come out more in the second half of 2021.
People spending more time at home due to the pandemic has "massively accelerated the shift" from traditional TV to streaming video," said eMarketer analyst Eric Haggstrom in an email. That bodes well for Netflix, the streaming pioneer. "Even as lockdowns are relaxed and new competitors begin to scale their services, Netflix will extend its lead as the first stop for entertainment." He predicts that Netflix will get one-third of streaming subscribers globally in 2020.
The Los Gatos, California, company's extraordinary expansion helped Netflix earn $720 million on revenue of $6.15 billion during the second quarter.
Investors have been betting the pandemic will make Netflix more popular than ever. Since public health experts officially declared the pandemic on March 11, Netflix's stock has soared by 50 percent.
The shares tumbled 10 percent to $473.24 in Thursday's extended trading after the subscriber growth numbers came out.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
