Neflix shares fell after beating expectations for Q2, but Q3 guidance fell short.
Netflix (NFLX.US) shares, which had earlier jumped more than 5%, have turned lower to trade at $643. The company reported that it had adjusted earnings per share of $4.88 in the second quarter ended June, above the $4.74 expected, and revenue of $9.56bn, up 16.8 per cent year on year, above the $9.53bn expected. The company said that net customer additions in the second quarter were 8.05m, above the 4.7m expected, and that the total number of global users at the end of June was 277m, up 16 per cent year on year, above the 274.4m expected; the number of paying subscribers with ads was more than 40m, up 34 per cent year on year. Netflix said that the year-on-year growth in customer additions in the third quarter was likely to be lower than in the third quarter of last year, when the crackdown on password sharing began, and that revenue was expected to be $9.73bn, up 14 per cent year on year, but below the $9.83bn expected; the third-quarter adjusted earnings per share were expected to be $5.1, above the $4.74 expected; the full-year revenue growth was revised to between 14 per cent and 15 per cent, from 13 per cent to 15 per cent; the full-year adjusted operating margin was revised to 26 per cent, from 25 per cent. Netflix also said that the growth in paying subscribers with ads in the rest of this year and next year was likely to be less strong than in the second quarter.