April 19, 2024 - $Netflix (NFLX.US)$ shares dropped 6.64% to $570.01 in pre-market trading on Friday.
Netflix released its Q1 2024 financial report yesterday after the market closed. The report showed that Netflix's Q1 revenue of $9.37 billion represented a 15% year-over-year increase, with earnings per share (EPS) of $5.28, up 83% year-over-year. Net profit increased by 79% to $2.33 billion, while operating profit grew by 54% to $2.6 billion, resulting in an operating profit margin increase of 7 percentage points to 28% year-over-year. These figures exceeded both market expectations and the company's official guidance.
However, Netflix also announced that it will stop regularly posting subscriber numbers starting next year, which could be a sign that the company expects a growth slowdown in the near future.
Wall Street reacted negatively to Netflix's report, which also included a muted sales outlook. Netflix attempted to cushion the impact of the announcement by stating that it will "announce major subscriber milestones as we cross them" once the new reporting structure kicks in. The company also stated that the move reflects its improved financials, which will be in greater focus without publicly available subscriber metrics.
Industry experts, such as Julia Alexander, Vice President of Strategy at Parrott Analytics, voiced concerns on Twitter that the lack of subscription numbers would make it more challenging for analysts to calculate both stagnation and churn numbers.