Netflix 3% Short of Projected Q4 Adds; Stock Down

Netflix finished Q4 with 8.28 million global paid net additions, nearly 3% short of its Oct. 19 projections, said the streaming company’s shareholder letter Thursday. “We slightly over-forecasted paid net adds in Q4,” it said. “As our membership base continues to grow, there will naturally be more volatility in our absolute paid net adds performance vs. forecast.” For the full year 2021, paid net adds of 18 million were roughly half those in 2020, it said. The service “continues to grow globally,” with more than 90% of paid net adds in 2021 coming from outside the U.S. and Canada, it said. The stronger U.S. dollar against most other currencies “translates” into an estimated 2-point “negative impact” in the company’s 2022 operating margin, it said: “Over the medium term we believe we can adjust our pricing and cost structure for a stronger US dollar world.” The stock fell 19% to $413.26 at 5:12 p.m. EST. The shareholder letter didn't mention price hikes announced last week across all tiers (see 2201140056).