Netflix posts its biggest-ever quarterly subscriber growth, stock surges 8%
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Netflix shares surged as much as 9 percent in late trading after the company posted
subscriber numbers that crushed its own guidance.
The stock was last seen near $144, about 8 percent higher in extended trade on Wednesday as more than 3 million shares changed hands.
The company said it added 7.05 million subscribers during the fiscal fourth quarter. Not only was that figure well above its own expectations of 5.2 million, but Netflix said it was the largest-ever quarterly subscriber growth in its history.
For the quarter, Netflix added 1.93 million memberships in the U.S. and 5.12 million internationally. Those figures came in well above the streaming giant's forecast that it would add 1.45 million subscribers in the U.S. and 3.75 million subscribers internationally.
Analysts expected subscriber numbers to come in slightly below those levels, about 1.44 million in the U.S. and 3.73 million internationally, according to StreetAccount consensus estimates.
The streaming service posted fourth-quarter earnings per share of 15 cents on revenue of $2.48 billion, roughly a 35 percent year-over-year increase in sales. Analysts expected Netflix to report earnings of 13 cents a share on $2.47 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates.