Netflix Trims Q3, Q4 Subscriber Guidance

Isn’t the theory supposed to be that in time of economic stress, Americans hunker down at home and watch more videos? Well, maybe not.

Netflix (NFLX) this morning reduced its guidance on subscriber growth for both the third and fourth quarters, while very slightly adjusting its Q4 financial outlook.

For Q3, the company says EPS will be within its previous guidance range of 26-34 cents a share on a GAAP basis. Excluding a one-time $6.5 million credit related to its August service interruption, the company sees revenue within previous guidance of $343 million to $348 million. But the company also said it finished Q3 with 8.672 million subscribers, just below its previous guidance of 8.675 million to 8.875 million subscribers. Subscriber were up 23 percent year over year, and 3 percent sequentially. The company said August subscriber growth was “unusually weak.” September regained momentum, but with “results slightly below original expectations, likely due to the economic climate.”

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