Streaming television service Netflix ended its third financial quarter of the year with more than 247.15 million global subscribers, the company revealed on Wednesday.
The figure marked a 3.6 percent quarterly growth compared to the 238.39 million subscribers reported three months ago, and a year-over increase of just under 11 percent.
Global revenue rose to $8.542 billion, a 4.3 percent jump from the prior quarter and a year-over increase of 7.8 percent. Net income clocked in at $1.916 billion, a 22.4 percent increase compared to Q3 2022.
The earnings were a surprise for Wall Street, which anticipated moderate growth that was slightly restrained by a lack of new content due to dual Hollywood strikes involving writers and actors that have halted scripted television series and films for several months.
“The last six months have been challenging for our industry given the combined writers and actors strikes in the US,” Netflix executives wrote in a letter to shareholders released on Wednesday. “While we have reached an agreement with the WGA, negotiations with SAG-AFTRA are ongoing. We’re committed to resolving the remaining issues as quickly as possible, so everyone can return to work making movies and TV shows that audiences will love.”
During the quarter, Netflix also broadened its strategy of cracking down on password-sharing in the United States and Canada after a limited test run in some Latin American countries. The crackdown had virtually no effect on paid memberships in the United States or Canada, where Netflix reported 77.32 million subscribers, an increase of 2.3 percent compared to the previous quarter.
Average revenue per user, or ARPU, in the United States and Canada remained relatively flat at $16.29, a few pennies below the $16.37 reported during Q3 2022. Despite adding a new ad-supported subscription tier last year, Netflix has struggled to increase its ARPU in the domestic market, even as its subscriber base continues to grow.
Overseas, things are different, with Netflix reporting EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) ARPU at $10.98, a year-over increase of around 2 percent. In Latin America, ARPU rose 3 percent on a year-over basis to $8.85, while the Asia-Pacific-Australia region saw ARPU decline 9 percent to $7.62.
None of the overseas regions saw a quarterly or year-over decline in paid customer accounts.
Shares of Netflix were trading around $346 by the close of the market, a 2.6 percent dip from the prior day. Netflix released its quarterly earnings report around 4 p.m. Eastern Time (1 p.m. Pacific Time). Shares of Netflix were 11 percent higher in after-hours trading.
