Netflix (NFLX, $201,63) has announced its Q2 earnings and the numbers haven't been great but are far better than what was expected. The streaming giant revealed it lost 970,000 subscribers during the three-month period that included the launch of the first part of “Stranger Things” Season 4. The company had predicted it would lose 2 million subscribers in the quarter. This caused shares to surge more than 8% in after-hours trading, its stock closed on Tuesday at $201.63 per share.
The company still had a rough three months, but its revenue did grow 9% to $7.9 billion a number that would have been higher had the value of the dollar not pushed down the value of currencies around the globe. However, this was still below analyst expectations of $8.05 billion. Netflix, which now has about 220.7 million subscribers worldwide, told investors that it could add back one million in the coming quarter. And Reed Hastings, the co-chief executive is bullish on the future of streaming. “It’s the end of linear TV over the next five, 10 years,” he said during a taped earnings call after the close of trading on Tuesday.
The company also stated it took a $70 million hit for severance costs in the second quarter following several rounds of layoffs and is adjusting its operating model for slower top-line growth. Netflix also took an $80 million non-cash impairment charge for “certain real estate leases primarily related to rightsizing our office footprint.”