by Lisa Richwine and Dawn Chmielewski
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Netflix announced on Wednesday that it was raising the price of some of its subscriptions in the United States, Britain and France, after having largely exceeded Wall Street’s expectations for its number of new subscribers in the third quarter.
The streaming giant’s stock jumped 13% in after-hours trading as investors welcomed subscription price increases.
Over the July-September period, Netflix recorded nearly 9 million new subscribers worldwide, compared to a consensus of 6 million according to LSEG data. The company said it expects a similar number for the current quarter.
This appears to illustrate the effectiveness of the group’s measures to combat account sharing as well as reward its constant flow of new programs.
This is an unprecedented quarterly jump in new subscribers not seen since the second quarter of 2020, when the first containment measures against the global COVID-19 pandemic were taken, causing a boom in subscriptions to the platform.
Netflix has increased the price of its so-called premium subscription by $3 per month in the United States, to $22.99. In France, it goes to 19.99 euros, compared to 17.99 euros.
A pioneer in the streaming sector, the group is looking for ways to strengthen its revenues as the market approaches saturation in the United States, where competition is fierce, particularly with the Walt Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery platforms.
According to data communicated on Wednesday by Netflix, the number of global subscribers of the platform stood at 247 million at the end of September, including more than 70% outside the United States. The biggest subscriber gains were seen in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Netflix reported quarterly revenue of $8.54 billion, in line with analysts’ expectations. Its earnings per share stood at $3.73, beating the consensus of $3.49.
He also said he anticipated a turnover of $8.69 billion for the current quarter, slightly below Wall Street forecasts of $8.77 billion.
(Reporting Lisa Richwine; Jean Terzian)
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