“Arrested Development” Helps Netflix Add More Than 600,000 Subscribers
Netflix added 630,000 subscribers in the U.S. during the second quarter, the company announced today. That’s in the range of the guidance the company provided three months ago, but it may disappoint investors who were hoping that new shows like “Arrested Development” could bring in something closer to 900,000 new customers.
The company earned 49 cents per share during the quarter — higher than the 40-cent Street consensus — and generated $1.07 billion in revenue, which was in line with expectations.
Netflix has yet to release any actual viewership numbers for its new shows, and says it doesn’t plan to. But in his quarterly investor letter, CEO Reed Hastings credits “Arrested Development” with “generating a small but noticeable bump in membership when we released it” in May.
Expect more original programming beyond the titles Netflix has announced, Hastings said. He said the company plans to start releasing its own “broadly appealing feature documentaries and stand-up comedy specials.”
On first pass, Hastings’ letter seems a bit more muted, or at least less detailed, than previous missives he has sent out. Given that the company is trying out a novel earnings call format tonight, featuring a live video chat with Hastings, moderated by CNBC’s Julia Boorstin and BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield, I think some folks assumed the company had a barn-burner of a quarter, and they may be disappointed. The stock is trading down more than 5 percent.
