Subscribers take spotlight ahead of Netflix's upcoming Q4 report
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With Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) set to report fourth-quarter results later this week, investors were streaming away from the company's shares on Monday amid what has been mixed sentiment about what it might say about new subscriber growth.

In late trading, Netflix (NFLX) was off by almost 3% as more industry analysts weighed in with their expectations for what the company might same about its earnings, revenue, and most-notably, its subscriber growth numbers when it gives its quarterly results and outlook after the close of trading on Thursday. Bank of America Securities analyst Nat Schindler said he is still expecting Netflix (NFLX) to say it added 8.6 million new subscribers during the final three months of 2021, and that it will add 7.3 million subscribers during the first quarter of this year.
"We [expect to] see the continuation of some of the highly-viewed and highly rated Netflix TV shows to likely drive subscriber growth," Schindler said.
Netflix (NFLX) itself has said it expects to add 8.5 million new subscribers for its fourth quarter, a figure that has been questioned by some analysts. Doug Anmuth, of J.P. Morgan, recently cut his price target on Netflix's (NFLX) stock to $725 a share from $750, and said he expects the company to report 6.25 million new subscribers for its fourth quarter. Anmuth said that there is data suggesting that after Netflix (NFLX) started the quarter strongly with the success of the show Squid Game, it saw light numbers of program downloads the rest of the period.
But, Schindler said he remained "skeptical" about the negative sentiment around Netflix's (NFLX) new subscriber figures.
"It is very possible that Netflix does miss this guidance; they have in the past," Schindler said. "But to be fair, they have beaten their guidance far more often than they have missed it. "Netflix's massive content lineup in 2022 could drive subscriber growth."
At Wedbush Securities, Michael Pachter said that Netflix's (NFLX) early move into the streaming TV industry, along with its huge base of subscribers, "provides the company with a nearly insurmountable competitive advantage" over its rivals. Pachter said the bulk of Netflix's (NFLX) future subscriber growth is likely to come from "lesser developed regions at lower monthly subscription price points."
With regards to profitability, Pachter said Netflix (NFLX) should be able to sustain it earnings "as long as it is able to continue raising subscription prices."
Netflix (NFLX) might get a sense of what subscribers think of its fees in the coming months. Last week, Netflix (NFLX) raised its subscription prices across the board, upping its basic plan to $15.49 a month form $13.99, and raising its plan that allows for four simultaneous video streams to $19.99 a month from $17.99.