Monday

As Netflix profit soars, CEO, CFO warn of higher costs, slower growth

SILICON VALLEY - Netflix (NFLX) reports growth in profit, revenue and subscribers, but warns of increased costs. Plus: Yahoo (YHOO), Nintendo, Facebook. And: New-home sales, Silicon Valley tech stocks.

Netflix earnings

Netflix -- the Los Gatos online DVD rental pioneer turned Internet viewing destination -- this afternoon reported a $60 million profit for its most recent quarter, up 88 percent from a year earlier. Revenue jumped 46 percent to $719 million.

During the quarter, Netflix added nearly 3.6 million subscribers.

"We are delighted to report another strong quarter of growth in subscribers, now at 23.6 million globally, revenue and earnings," Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and Chief Financial Officer David Wells wrote in a letter to shareholders posted on the company's site. "This growth underscores the value of our increased spending on an ever-broader selection of TV shows and movies, our constantly improving personalization technology, and the Netflix brand."

Netflix's earnings came in at $1.11 a share -- beating Wall Street forecasts, according to Thomson.

However, the company warned that future subscriber growth may slow as the costs of securing programming for its online viewing service increases. It expects 24 million to 24.8 million customers at the end of the current quarter. It also expects profit of $50 million to $62 million -- or 93 cents to $1.15 a share -- on revenue of $762 million to $778 million. By contrast, analysts on average had been expecting earnings of $1.19 a share on $763 million in revenue.

Netflix released results just after the stock markets closed this afternoon. Earlier, the shares finished regular trading at $251.67, down 55 cents, or 0.2 percent, from last week's closing price. The stock was dropping sharply in after-hours trading.


Source: Silicon Valley Mercury News