Netflix Passes All Goals, Except The Most Important (NFLX)

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is getting hit in the after-hours trading session despite posting some impressive  growth.  The video rental giant made $43.5 million, or $0.80 EPS, a gain of close to 35%, while revenues rose 27% to about $520 million.  Earnings expectations were $0.70 at Thomson Reuters, but revenue estimates were $524.4 million.  The company did add another 1 million subscribers and is looking for a repeat, but shares are getting hit.

The 2010 guidance is for earnings of $2.58 to $2.86 EPS and $2.14 to $2.16 billion in revenues.  Thomson Reuters has estimates of $2.65 EPS and $2.15 billion in revenues.  With shares being such a high-beta and with the stock having risen so much, that won’t make the grade.

Netflix ended June with more than 15 million subscribers, which is up from 14 million subscribers in March and versus 10.6 million a year ago.  Today actually marked the third “at least 1 million subscriber adds” and the company is looking for a repeat there this quarter to end summer with 16.3 to 16.7 million subscribers.

Shares closed down 0.6% at $119.65 versus a 52-week range of $39.27 to $127.96, but shares are getting tooled in the after-hours session.  Shares are down 9.25% at $108.60 in the after-hours trading session.

JON C. OGG