Netflix earnings to key in on subscriber growth, password crackdown
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When Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) delivers its fiscal first-quarter results after Tuesday's market close, it will be no surprise that investors and Wall Street analysts will key in on what the streaming TV giant has to say about its subscriber growth levels.
Netflix (NFLX) ended 2022 by adding 7.66M subscribers during the fourth quarter of the year, to give its 230.75M paid memberships worldwide. The company isn't expected to say it added as many subscribers during the first three months of this year, but Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan said he suspects Netflix's (NFLX) subscriber growth will be in line, or slightly exceed Wall Street's estimates.
But, what will be new with regards to Netflix's (NFLX) results is what the company says about the impact of two new initiatives: a crackdown on password sharing and a new, lower-cost subscription option that comes with commercial advertising.
Sheridan said he expects that Netflix (NFLX) in particular "will frame the password sharing crackdown as a longer duration initiative" for this year that may work better in certain regions that have what he called "a more robust content slate than the one seen in March 2023."
Sheridan is particularly cautious about Netflix (NFLX), as he has a sell rating on the company's stock, and gives the company's shares a $230 price target, which implies a 30% decline from the stock's current price of around $332 a share.
Wall Street analysts currently estimate Netflix (NFLX) will report a profit of $2.878 a share on $8.18B for its first quarter. 
Whatever else Netflix (NFLX) has to say, it will be a historic first for the company with its first-quarter report, as it will be the company's first since Reed Hastings stepped down as co-Chief Executive in January.