In Q3, 2020 Netflix added 2.2 million subscribers – below Wall Street’s and Netflix’s expectations.
NFLX had previously forecast adding 2.5 million paid streaming customers in Q3, 2020 after COVID-19 catalyses adds of 10.1 million in Q2 and 15.8 million in Q1.
Netflix posted revenue of $6.44 billion (up 22.7%) and earnings of $1.74 per share (versus $1.47 in the year-ago period). Wall Street analysts on average expected third-quarter sales of $6.38 billion and EPS of $2.13.
As of Sept. 30, Netflix reported 195.15 million paid streaming customers worldwide, up 23.3% year over year. Subscriber growth plummeted in Latin America, where Netflix added 260,000 subscribers in the most recent quarter (vs. 1.49 million in the year-prior period).
For Q4, 2020 Netflix forecast 6 million paid net adds — versus 8.8 million in the year prior. That would be a record 34 million paid net adds for 2020, well above its prior annual high-water mark of 28.6 million in 2018.