Netflix Q1 revenue exceeded expectations, but net new subscribers fell sharply

On April 20, streaming giant Netflix released its first quarter 2021 financial report. How did Netflix perform in the first quarter? Here are some key data↓

Revenue: $7.16 billion, up from $5.77 billion a year ago and up from expectations of $7.14 billion

Earnings per share: $3.75, up from $1.57 a year ago and $2.97 expected

Paid subscriber net additions: 3.98 million, down from 15.77 million in the same period last year and down from 6.29 million expected

After the results were announced, Netflix's stock price fell by about 10 % in subsequent trading . The editor checked Google Trends and found that the search volume for "Netflix stock" exceeded 20,000 on April 20, ranking 19th on Google's daily search trends, second only to Apple's press conference.

Netflix faces numerous competitors, such as Disney 's Disney+ and Hulu, Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime, etc. However, Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings said that competition is not the main reason for the weak number of subscribers.

Netflix said that the slowdown in paid membership growth in the first quarter was due on the one hand to the early release of user growth driven by COVID-19 in 2020 , and on the other hand to the reduction in content in the first half of this year due to production delays caused by COVID-19 .

Not only the first quarter, Netflix's forecast for second-quarter user growth is also far below market expectations. Netflix expects paid subscribers to grow by only 1 million in the second quarter , while Wall Street expects 4.44 million.

However , Netflix expects its content to resume later this year . "We continue to expect a strong second half of the year as we welcome new seasons of some of our biggest hits and an exciting film slate, " Netflix claimed in a letter to investors .

Separately, Chief Financial Officer Spencer Neumann told investors: "The key thing is the business remains healthy ... and the business is still growing."

Netflix also mentioned in a letter to investors : "In the short term, COVID -19 has brought some uncertainty; however, in the long term, the clear trend in the entertainment industry is that streaming will replace television . "

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