What to Expect From Netflix Earnings

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is scheduled to release its most recent quarterly results after the markets close on Monday. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters call for $0.41 in EPS and $3.28 billion in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.15 and $2.48 billion in revenue.

Back in the third quarter, Netflix added 5.3 million memberships globally, a record for the quarter and an increase of 49% from last year.

For the fourth quarter, the company said that it predicts global net adds of 6.30 million (1.25 million in the United States and 5.05 million internationally), compared with 7.05 million in the year-ago quarter, which was Netflix’s all-time high for quarterly net adds.

Also during this quarter, rumors have swirled that Apple may be looking to acquire Netflix, and this would bring a hefty price tag. The big plus for Apple is that buying Netflix keeps Amazon from making its own offer. Not only does Netflix offer a content play, but the streaming video company is also a global distribution play. Owning content rights is a good business — according to Disney — but without getting that content in front of millions of eyeballs, it has limited value.

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Excluding Monday’s move, Netflix shares are up 15% year to date. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock is actually up about 59%.

A few analysts weighed in on Netflix ahead of the report:

• B. Riley has a Hold rating with a $211 price target.
• Goldman Sachs has a Buy rating and a $250 price target.
• Wedbush has a Sell rating with a $93 price target.
• KeyCorp has an Overweight rating with a $270 target price.
• Loop Capital has a Buy rating with a $252 price target.
• Buckingham Research has a Buy rating and a $251 target.
• Barclays has an Overweight rating with a $245 price target.
• Piper Jaffray has a Buy rating with a $240 price target.
• Morgan Stanley has an Overweight rating and a $255 target.

Shares of Netflix traded up about 2% at $225.77 on Monday, with a consensus analyst price target of $222.73 and a 52-week range of $137.03 to $227.00.

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