As it reports the ever-so-closely watched subscriber numbers during its third-quarter earnings release this afternoon, have Netflix s moves, such as continued investment in original programming, plus expansion in Europe, begun to pay off?
As we ve written, Netflix is making big bets on original content, with one of its latest high-profile moves involving the streaming of the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel simultaneously with the movie s theater release next year. Netflix also recently announced a deal for exclusive Adam Sandler movies.
Netflix reported 50.05 million streaming subscribers last quarter; this time around it forecast that that number would rise to 53.74 million.
And the kinds of moves the company is making aren t cheap, so investors and interested observers will be paying attention to how much the Los Gatos company is spending.
What about the competition? Netflix s earnings will be released on the heels of an announcement this morning that HBO — which the company has called its big competitor — is starting a standalone streaming service of its own.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet estimate Netflix will post profit of 92 cents a share on revenue of $1.41 billion, compared with sales of $1.1 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Netflix shares are down about 3 percent to $435.75. In August, shares of the company reached an all-time closing high of $477.64.
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