Even as Netflix executives sought to reassure investors in a Thursday video interview that its long-term prospects for streaming media remain bright, with its popular series Bridgerton returning for a second season and a science-fiction film starring Ryan Reynolds coming soon, shares slipped.
By the end of the 45-minute earnings interview, Netflix stock was down more than 20 per cent, casting a pall over the entertainment industry.
Wall Street analysts and the company's own executives struggled to explain why the world’s dominant streaming service forecast modest growth for the first three months of 2022, when many had anticipated a return to predictable, pre-pandemic quarterly gains.
“It's tough to say exactly why our acquisition hasn't kind of recovered to pre-Covid levels,” said Netflix chief financial officer Spencer Neumann.
“It's probably a bit of just overall Covid overhang that's still happening after two years of a global pandemic that we're still unfortunately not fully out of, some macroeconomic strain in some parts of the world, like Latin America, in particular.”
Stocks of tech and media companies that have invested heavily on streaming, including the Walt Disney, ViacomCBS and Roku, all dropped in after-hours trading.
Netflix projected gains of 2.5 million subscribers in the January through March quarter – roughly two-thirds of the four million customers added in the same period a year earlier.
Wall Street analysts pointed to heightened competition and a slower-than-anticipated return to normal conditions after the distortions of the pandemic as possible factors.
Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeff Wlodarczak said Netflix and other services that added subscribers during the pandemic lockdown in early 2020 – including Disney+ and Peloton – are struggling to regain equilibrium after outsized gains.
“Streaming is not over, it is the future,” Mr Wlodarczak wrote. “And today, streaming still has a relatively small percentage of global television viewership.”
Others saw Netflix’s muted first-quarter forecast as a sign of intensifying competition – though co-chief executive Ted Sarandos told investors: “We didn't see a hit to our engagement. We didn't see a hit to retention – all of those things that would classically lead you to looking at competition.”
Rival services, such as Disney's Disney+, WarnerMedia's HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video, are spending billions on content to attract subscribers.
“The reality is that the streaming market has become saturated,” wrote Mike Proulx, vice president of research for Forrester. “This translates to more choice for consumers, who are growing concerned with the aggregate costs of their streaming subscriptions.”
Though 90 per cent of Netflix’s growth is expected to come from outside its home market, analysts are closely tracking how the company's latest price increase, which took the cost of a monthly subscription to $15, will affect subscriptions in the US and Canada.
“Whether Netflix can retain subscribers at historical rates now that their most popular tier costs the same as HBO Max after their most recent price increase will be important to gauge,” wrote Joe McCormack, analyst at Third Bridge, “As we head into a 2022 year that many seem to believe will come with streaming video subscriber saturation overall.”
Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings told investors there's ample room for growth, as streaming gradually replaces traditional television over the next decade or two.
“For now, we're, just like, staying calm,” he said.
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MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Manchester United v Barcelona, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations
Edited by Sarah Cleave, Comma Press
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
Specs
Engine: 3.0L twin-turbo V6
Gearbox: 10-speed automatic
Power: 405hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 562Nm at 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.2L/100km
Price: From Dh292,845 (Reserve); from Dh320,145 (Presidential)
On sale: Now
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Day 5, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Given the problems Sri Lanka have had in recent times, it was apt the winning catch was taken by Dinesh Chandimal. He is one of seven different captains Sri Lanka have had in just the past two years. He leads in understated fashion, but by example. His century in the first innings of this series set the shock win in motion.
Stat of the day This was the ninth Test Pakistan have lost in their past 11 matches, a run that started when they lost the final match of their three-Test series against West Indies in Sharjah last year. They have not drawn a match in almost two years and 19 matches, since they were held by England at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi in 2015.
The verdict Mickey Arthur basically acknowledged he had erred by basing Pakistan’s gameplan around three seam bowlers and asking for pitches with plenty of grass in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Why would Pakistan want to change the method that has treated them so well on these grounds in the past 10 years? It is unlikely Misbah-ul-Haq would have made the same mistake.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
The years Ramadan fell in May
