Netflix adds 13.1 million subscribers, tops revenue estimates as membership push gains steam

LOS ANGELES — Netflix is due to report fourth-quarter earnings after the closing bell Tuesday.

The company’s performance has been an anomaly in the streaming realm. While competitors struggle to turn profits, Netflix saw an 8% bump in revenue last quarter as its paid memberships grew again.

Here’s what Wall Street expects: 

• Earnings: $2.22 per share, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv
• Revenue: $8.71 billion, according to LSEG
• Total memberships: 256 million, according to Street Account

In October, the company said it added 8.76 million paid memberships in the third quarter, pushing its total to 247 million. Wall Street expects Netflix to have continued that trend in the fourth quarter, with forecasts projecting another 8 million to 9 million paid membership adds, bringing the company to roughly 256 million.

Netflix took another step toward building subscribers when it announced Tuesday that it would stream the popular WWE Raw starting next year. The deal is the streaming platform’s biggest step yet into live entertainment.

Netflix is still navigating its transformation from targeting subscriber growth to focusing on profit, using price hikes, password crackdowns and ad-supported tiers to boost revenue.

Investors got a sneak preview of growth in Netflix’s advertising-based plan earlier this month, when the company’s president of advertising, Amy Reinhard, told attendees at the Variety Entertainment Summit at CES that the company now has more than 23 million global monthly active users. That’s up from 15 million that the company reported in November.

It’s been less than a year since Netflix instituted its password crackdown, so it’s unclear how it has affected the company’s results and how much executives will share about it.

Last quarter, the streamer also announced another round of price hikes, save for its $6.99 a month ad tier and standard $15.49 per month plan. It’s basic plan jumped $2 to $11.99 a month and its premium became $22.99 a month, a $3 increase.

The price increases are part of Netflix’s strategy to boost profit and grapple with higher production costs caused by the Covid pandemic and dual Hollywood labor strikes in mid-2023.