(22 January 2020)DAILY MARKET BRIEF 1:Netflix's Earnings Beat Forecasts but U.S. Subscriber Growth Fell Short

Netflix's growth driver continued to be its international user base in the last quarter of 2019, its latest quarterly report showed. The streaming company's earnings, released on Tuesday evening, far exceeded Wall Street's expectations, but slower-than-anticipated growth in the U.S. user base underscored fears about competition in the streaming market. Netflix stock (ticker: NFLX) fell about 1% in after-hours trading. As Netflix's U.S. subscriber base has surpassed 60 million and as the domestic streaming market has become saturated, the company's growth has decelerated. News that the domestic user base declined for the first time in years in the second quarter sent the stock plummeting. Conditions remained tough domestically in the fourth quarter. Netflix said it added 8.3 million net new international subscribers and 420,000 U.S. users, while Wall Street had been expecting 618,000 domestic and 7.2 million international additions. On Oct. 17, Netflix told investors to expect a total of 7.6 million new subscribers.

By Ipek Ozkardeskaya