Netflix subscriber growth beats expectations on strong original content

Netflix Inc added more international subscribers than expected in the first quarter as a slate of original shows such as Altered Carbon and The Crown kept viewers hooked to the video streaming service provider.

Shares of the company, which have surged about 60 per cent this year, rose 6 per cent to US$327.57 after the bell on Monday.

Netflix, which faces stiff competition from Amazon.com’s Prime Video service and Hulu, has been pumping in funds to expand its portfolio of original content across different languages and strengthen its international presence.

The Los Gatos, California-based company had said it plans to spend around $8 billion on content this year to boost its subscriber growth. Netflix added 5.46 million subscribers in its international markets in the first quarter ended March 31. compared with the average analyst estimate of 5.02 million, according to data and analytics firm FactSet.

Netflix said it added 7.4 million total subscribers compared with the average analyst estimate of 6.5 million, according to FactSet.

Net income rose to US$290.1 million, or 64 cents per share, in the quarter ended March 31 from US$178.2 million, or 40 cents per share, a year earlier.

Total revenue rose 40.4 per cent to US$3.7 billion in the quarter.