Netflix beats estimates with 8 million new subscribers

New sign-ups brought total number of global subscribers to more than 277 million

The streaming company said its advertisement-tier membership grew 34 per cent from the first quarter, but it did not say how many subscribers chose that option. AFP

Netflix said on Thursday it added more than eight million subscribers in its second quarter, as the streaming service benefitted from a password-sharing crackdown and such titles as Bridgerton, Baby Reindeer and The Roast of Tom Brady.

The subscriber gains topped analyst predictions that Netflix would add about five million new customers from April through June.

The new sign-ups brought the total number of global Netflix subscribers to more than 277 million.

The company reported diluted per-share earnings of $4.88, compared with consensus forecasts of $4.74 a share, according to LSEG.

Revenue for the quarter reached $9.56 billion, in line with estimates.

Wall Street investors have been monitoring the growth of Neflix's advertisement-supported tier, which has been fuelled by the company's crackdown on password-sharing, pricing rises for advertisement-free tiers and new consumer bundles, such as Comcast's “StreamSaver”, which combines Netflix with Peacock and Apple TV+.

Netflix said its advertisement-tier membership grew 34 per cent from the first quarter, but it did not say how many subscribers chose that option.

“Our ad business is growing nicely and is becoming a more meaningful contributor to our business,” Netflix said in its letter to investors.

“But building a business from scratch takes time and, coupled with the large size of our subscription revenue, we don't expect advertising to be a primary driver of our revenue growth in 2024 or 2025.”

The company said it expected third-quarter revenue growth of 14 per cent, compared with a year ago.

It cautioned that subscriber gains would be lower than the comparable period in 2023, which was the first full quarter to benefit from Netflix's crackdown on password-sharing.

Three years into its video game initiative, Netflix said it planned to release a multiplayer game based on Squid Game this year when season two of the dystopian Korean series makes its debut.

It also plans games tied to Emily in Paris and Selling Sunset.