What to Expect From Netflix Earnings

In the second-quarter earnings report, Netflix forecast 1.15 million net adds in the United States and 2.4 million international net adds, making a combined estimate of 3.55 million net adds.

The company recently announced a price increase of $1 a month for its online streaming service, which will take place on November 9. The $1 price hike may not seem much. Under the new Netflix “standard” plan, which will have a price of $9.99, the user gets two things that the $7.99 “basic” plan does not give. The standard plan has HD and can be viewed on two screens at once. The basic plan subscriber can only use one screen. Some people will opt for the $7.99, but it will take several quarters for the results to be posted, if they ever are.

This stock also was absolutely hammered on the open Monday, briefly touching an incredible $85, when there were no bids. Netflix continues to be a top media play on Wall Street, and many are now starting to anticipate a stock split in the streaming content giant. Analysts by and large feel that Netflix likely will continue to benefit from a materially stronger original content launch. With many consumers tired of rising cable and carrier content prices, the streaming leader may have a big rest 2015 and 2016.

Investor sentiment continues to stay positive on the stock as streaming hours and time spent continues to rise. In fact, the company recently noted that it logged 10 billion streaming hours in the first quarter, up 20% year over year. We searched for the second-quarter streaming hours but they were unavailable.

Netflix posted solid second-quarter earnings and strong subscriber additions. It also has announced a deal with Softbank to get Netflix into Japan. Mobile provider SoftBank will allow customers to sign up for Netflix at its shops, major electronics retailers, website and call centers, adding the service fee to their monthly bill.

So far in 2015, Netflix has absolutely outperformed the broad markets, with shares up nearly 125% year to date. Although, in past 52 weeks, shares are up only 75%.

Shares of Netflix were up 1.5% Wednesday morning to $111.42. The consensus analyst price target is $121.12, and the 52-week trading range is $45.08 to $129.29.

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