Who’s watching Netflix shares? Everyone

October 21

Who’s watching Netflix shares? Everyone

A man is seen taking a photo near the Netflix logo inside a studio hall in Mumbai.

Ashish Vaishnav | Lightrocket | Getty Images

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

What you need to know today

Consecutive winning weeks All major U.S. indexes rose Friday for their sixth consecutive winning week. That’s the longest streak this year for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, both of which hit record highs. Europe’s regional Stoxx 600 index added 0.21%, buoyed by luxury stocks. Friday’s session pushed it 0.37% higher last week for its second consecutive week of gains.

Watching Netflix shares Netflix shares popped 11% on Friday, a day after the company reported third-quarter results that beat earnings, revenue and paid membership estimates. Netflix’s growth in its ad-supported membership was the highlight of its report. Subscribers in that tier jumped 35% for the quarter and comprised 50% of new sign-ups.

Inflationary vibes Inflation, according to the consumer price index, has been dropping close to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Why, then, does the U.S consumer still feel burdened by high prices and increasing debt? CNBC’s Jeff Cox explores the tension between slowing inflation and high prices, and the tricky situation the Fed’s in with regards to interest rates.

Boeing votes The strike at Boeing, which has so far lasted more than a month and cost Boeing an estimated $1 billion, might end soon. On Saturday, Boeing and its machinists’ union reached a new contract proposal, said the union, which offers 35% wage increases over four years. The union is set to vote on the deal on Wednesday.

[PRO] Earnings to shape markets Around 20% of S&P 500 companies will report earnings this week. The biggest names are Amazon and Tesla, though there’s no shortage of blue-chip companies. Given that expectations have been tempered down, the weeks-long rally in markets faces a risk if earnings aren’t up to scratch, notes CNBC Pro’s Sarah Min.

The bottom line

There’s a YouTube series called “I Like to Watch,” in which two people react to Netflix shows.

While it has accumulated an ardent fanbase for the hosts’ kooky reactions, the series is, essentially, a show about Netflix shows. If the shows being watched weren’t culturally relevant, immediately recognizable or didn’t have mass appeal, no one would like to watch “I Like to Watch.” Netflix shows are often all of the above.

Sure, the media streaming giant beat expectations on earnings and revenue for the third quarter. Those numbers are important to investors. And Netflix wants to move beyond subscriber numbers as a financial metric. But it might be subscriber numbers that give the clearest picture of Netflix’s value.

Indeed, it was probably the growth of Netflix’s ad-supported membership tier that excited investors and helped push up the stock 11% on Friday. For the third quarter, subscribers to the ad-tier jumped 35% quarter on quarter and accounted for 50% of sign-ups.

Acquiring new subscribers is different from growing margins by bringing increasing price plans or cutting costs. It means Netflix is reaching new customers it otherwise would not have.

“It’s a good indicator that some of the growth that dropped out of the market in 2022 is returning,” said Richard Broughton, executive director of Ampere Analysis, told CNBC.

And it’s not just that more people are signing up for Netflix. They’re watching a lot of Netflix: around 2 hours a day, according to JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth. Without ads, that would be a meaningless statistic. But with ads, a high viewing time can allow Netflix to charge advertisers more, increasing revenue growth.

Many of us like to watch Netflix shows. With the company’s dominance in the media and streaming space, Netflix’s stock, too, is worth watching.

— CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Ryan Browne, Lisa Kailai Han and Alex Harring contributed to this report.

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