Netflix stock deep in red after subscriber stumble
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Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) stock is heavily wounded, down 18.8% in after-hours trading, as the shares went into their biggest decline in years after the streaming TV giant's fourth-quarter earnings deeply disappointed investors.
That slide coincides with Netflix (NFLX) falling short on subscriber additions, compared to both its own and the Street's expectations.

After logging 4.38 million net additions in the third quarter, Netflix (NFLX) went bigger for its fourth quarter, saying it expected to add 8.5 million new subscribers in the period that ended in December. And while there was an acceleration, Netflix's (NFLX) 8.28 million new subscribers left observers flat. And the company appears to be taking that to heart with a lighter forecast for 2.86 million new subscribers in the first quarter of 2022.
Netflix (NFLX) subscribers had widely been expected to stabilize after the appearance of some hit content toward the end of 2021, including the heavily watched film Red Notice and an all-star cast anchoring Don't Look Up, and some more heavy hitters in the pipeline, such as new seasons of Ozark, Bridgerton and Stranger Things.

The lower first-quarter guidance, though, "reflects a more back-end weighted content slate" for the quarter, according to the company, noting Bridgerton season 2 and original film The Adam Project are launching in March.
"In addition, while retention and engagement remain healthy, acquisition growth has not yet re-accelerated to pre-Covid levels," the company said, pinning the blame on COVID overhang and ongoing macroeconomic hardship in various parts of the world.
It was noticeable that the streaming leader - historically sanguine about any competitive pressures - gave some lip service to the heavy spending from its growing crop of rivals like Disney+ (DIS), itself working hard to close the paid subscriber gap with 179 million subscribers of its own.
"Consumers have always had many choices when it comes to their entertainment time - competition that has only intensified over the last 24 months as entertainment companies all around the world develop their own streaming offering," Netflix said in a statement. "While this added competition may be affecting our marginal growth some, we continue to grow in every country and region in which these new streaming alternatives have launched."
As noted, Netflix's quarterly sales were in line with expectations and the company topped consensus for profitability - but those factors are clearly being discounted in favor of the growth and competition figures.
More to come as Netflix executives take questions in their quarterly interview, coming at 6 p.m. ET.
Despite the growth concerns, Netflix continues to flex its pricing power, hiking rates in the U.S. and Canada this past week.