In every crisis there are those who lose us and those who gain us: Netflix it is among the realities that is undoubtedly gaining from this pandemic, with billions of people confined to their home with little else to do except watch TV series and streaming movies. The first quarter results, which therefore only include a few weeks of lockdown and restrictive measures, paint a real boom: 15.8 million new subscribers, more than double the expected 7.2 million, with an increase of 22% on an annual basis. Netflix now has 183 million subscribers worldwide and achieved quarterly revenue of $ 5.77 billion, compared to analyst estimates of $ 5.76 billion.
The company led by Reed Hastings doesn't seem to want to enjoy the moment though puts his hands forward, underlining in a letter to the shareholders that when the containment measures of the various states are gradually loosened, there will be much slower growth. In short, Netflix knows that exponential growth will not be confirmed for a long time and at the same time it is not so sure that all these subscribers, once the lockdown is over, will continue to use the service assiduously.
"Like other home entertainment services, we are seeing a temporary growth in subscriptions and viewing. In our case, this is offset by a significantly stronger US dollar, which depresses our international turnover, generating revenue as estimated." To keep the service uninterrupted and attention high when the pandemic ends, Netflix has taken some precautions, including reducing the tests on some innovations expected for the service.
As for the production of new content, Netflix makes it known that although at this moment everything is almost stopped, there is a wide range of content ready for release or almost. "So even though we certainly are impacted by the break in global production, we plan to provide an incredible variety of new titles during 2020 and 2021."
For the second quarter, the current one, Netflix expects a turnover of 6 billion dollars (+ 22.8%) with a net profit of 820 million dollars. On the subscribers front, the company plans a an increase of 7.5 million users, + 25.6% on an annual basis, for a total of around 190 million payers.
