Netflix bets virtually all entertainment video in the future will come via the internet and it’s expanding its global footprint. The streaming service reported fourth-quarter revenues of US$1.48bn.
Earnings per share in the fourth quarter totalled US$0.75.
This exceeds Wall Street expectations, where analysts had been betting on revenues of US$1.46bn and earnings of US$0.45 a share.
“It is increasingly clear that virtually all entertainment video will be internet video in the future,” Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said in a letter to investors.
“We believe there is big growth ahead in the US market for Netflix, even if we may not get there in a straight line of 6m annual net adds. We’ll continue to improve our content, our marketing and our service, to eventually achieve ‘must have’ status in most households.”
Going global, faster than Marco Polo
Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix
While net additions to Netflix’s audience in the US dropped to 1.9m in the fourth quarter compared with 2.3m a year ago, the company attributed this to its recent price change.
On the international front, Netflix is planning to traverse more countries than the hero in its eponymous hit show Marco Polo. Currently, the company serves 50 international markets but wants to grow this to 200 international markets within the next two years.
The company said that internationally it added 2.43m new customers and its initial set of markets – Canada, Latin America, the UK, Ireland, the Nordics and The Netherlands –achieved profitability in the third quarter.
“Our launch in Q3 in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg went well and our new original content is particularly popular. With all of the additional new original content set to premiere in 2015, it will be a big year for us in France, Germany and our other recently launched markets. We’ve successfully built big demand for Netflix from Argentina to Finland, due in part to the overall shift from linear to internet TV.
“In late Q1, we’ll be launching Netflix in Australia and New Zealand. There are numerous local competitors and a thirst for movies and TV shows from around the world. Later in the year, we’ll launch additional major countries, in keeping with our global strategy,” Hastings said.
Netflix image via Shutterstock
