CNBC Daily Open: Everyone’s watching Netflix shares

October 21

The Netflix Albuquerque Studios film and television production studio lot in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | 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. Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Monday. China’s CSI 300 added around 0.5% as Beijing’s central bank loosened monetary policy further.

PBOC cuts ratesOn Monday, the People’s Bank of China cut key interest rates by 25 basis points. The one-year loan prime rate, which influences corporate and household loans, was reduced to 3.1%. The five-year LPR, which is tied to mortgage rates, was cut to 3.6%. Pan Gongsheng, PBOC governor, indicated on Friday that the bank would lower those rates.

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.

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] Consider dividend stocksInterest rates are coming down globally. That means high-yielding money market funds and bonds might become rarer. For investors looking to secure a steady stream of income still, Morgan Stanley recommends considering dividend income stocks, and picks 10 dividend stocks from Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan, for its “conviction list.”

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 industry, 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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