Netflix cleared the quarter and stumbled on the outlook. The company posted second-quarter revenue of $12.56bn on Thursday, up 13% on the year, alongside earnings of $0.80 a share, a cent ahead of the $0.79 analysts had pencilled in. Then it guided the next three months lower, and the stock did the rest.
Third-quarter revenue is forecast at $12.86bn, growth of roughly 12% but short of the $13bn Wall Street had modelled. Projected earnings of $0.82 a share also trailed the $0.84 consensus.
Shares fell about 9% in after-hours trading, surrendering the calm that had followed April’s record buyback authorisation.
On the quarter itself there was little to complain about. Analysts had looked for roughly $12.58bn in revenue and $0.79 a share; Netflix delivered a whisker under the first and a penny over the second, with the operating margin broadly where it needed to be.
The 💜 of EU techThe latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!The disappointment was an entirely forward-looking one, which is usually the harder kind to shake off.
