Netflix shares dive 9% as subs decision & revenue projection disappoint investors

One Day (Source: Netflix)

Netflix shares have dived almost 10% after the global streamer’s revenue projections over the next three months and its decision to stop reporting subscriber numbers disappointed investors.

The shock move to end its subscriber count from 2025 was seen by investors as an admission that its customer base may stabilise or fall in future.

Netflix argued in its letter to investors that the decision had been taken because subscribers had acted as a “strong indicator of our future potential”.

It added: “But now we’re generating very substantial profit and free cash flow,” highlighting that the streamer’s multiple revenue streams including its nascent ad tiers made the subs count less relevant than when it was a pure SVOD.

Berlin (Source: Netflix)

The streamer’s projections also took some of the gloss off an impressive set of Q1 numbers, with expected Q2 revenues of $9.49bn against expectations of $9.52bn.

However, the decline follows a share price surge over recent months and despite the 9% drop on Friday, Netflix’s shares are still up by more than 36% over the past six months.

The One Day streamer revealed on Thursday that it had added 9.3 million subscribers in the three months to 31 March, taking it to a global total of 269.6 million.

That pushed The Gentleman streamer’s revenue up by 15% to $9.4bn, with net income rising beyond most analysts’ expectations by 79% to $2.3bn.

The company said it is maintaining its planned $17bn spend on content in 2024 and pointed to high-performing titles across Q1 such as Griselda, 3 Body Problem, Berlin and A Killer Paradox.