In a nutshell: Netflix got off to a bumpy start in 2022 but finished the year on a high note. For the fourth quarter ending December 31, Netflix generated $7.85 billion in revenue. That’s a modest gain of just 1.9 percent year over year but it’s better than going in the wrong direction. Diluted earnings per share checked in at $0.12.
Full year 2022 revenue was $31.62 billion with $4.5 billion in net income and diluted earnings per share of $11.24.
Netflix managed to add 7.66 million paid subscribers during the holiday season, pushing the total number of paid memberships to 230.75 million. The launch of Netflix’s lower-priced ad-supported tier in November no doubt played a role here, with the company saying it was pleased with the offering’s early results. Unfortunately for the curious among us, Netflix did not disclose what portion of its subscribers are signed up for the ad-supported tier so it is tough to gauge (as an outsider) just how successful it is.
Content is king and Netflix had plenty of good shows and movies to watch in 2022. Season four of Stranger Things hit one billion hours viewed, as did the new series Wednesday starring Jenna Ortega. Other hits included Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Purple Hearts, Harry & Meghan, and The Adam Project.
The streaming video giant also revealed that co-founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings has transitioned to executive chairman. Joining Ted Sarandos will continue as co-CEO alongside Greg Peters, who is stepping up from his previous role as chief operating officer.
Shares in Netflix hit a high mark near the end of 2021 at nearly $700 but things turned south in a hurry in 2022 and by June, those same shares were trading around $175. The recovery since last summer has been pretty steady with shares currently trading at $337.21 as of this writing. That includes an increase of nearly seven percent based on today’s news.
Image credit: John-Mark Smith, Simone Daino
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Margarett Antes