Netflix Fell Slightly Short of Q3 Sub Target, Exceeded Forecast Internationally

Netflix exceeded its Q3 paid net subscriber addition target internationally but fell short of its mark in the U.S., reported the company Wednesday. The company had 6.26 million paid net adds overseas, slightly above its July target of 6.2 million. The 520,000 paid net adds in the U.S. were 35 percent below the targeted 800,000. Internationally, Q3 was a rebound for Netflix, which significantly underperformed in Q2 against its paid net subscriber addition targets (see 1907170070). “As we’ve improved the variety, diversity and quality of our content slate, member engagement has grown, revenue has increased, and we’re able to further fund our content investment,” said Netflix. Total paid net adds of increased 12 percent year over year “and was an all-time Q3 record,” it said. Paid net adds in the U.S. were down 48 percent from the same 2018 quarter. The launch of new competitive streaming services will be “noisy,” said Netflix. “There may be some modest headwind to our near-term growth, and we have tried to factor that into our guidance. In the long-term, though, we expect we’ll continue to grow nicely given the strength of our service and the large market opportunity.” The company is forecasting 600,000 paid net adds for Q4 in the U.S., 7 million internationally. Total paid net adds of 7.6 million would be a 14 percent decline from the 2018, including a 4 percent decline internationally. The stock rose 8.4 percent after regular trading to $310.20.