Netflix growed in Q3, added 5.3 million new subscribers

Netflix added more subscribers than expected around the world in the third quarter and projected growth in line with Wall Street forecasts, saying it had a head start on rivals as internet television explodes globally.

Netflix's 5.3 million additional subscribers in the third quarter included 4.45 million in international markets and 850,000 in the United States. Wall Street had expected 4.5 million overall, with 3.69 million overseas and 810,000 in the United States, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose about 30 percent to $2.99 billion in the third quarter. Net income rose to $130 million, or 29 cents per share, in the latest quarter from $52 million, or 12 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company known for original TV shows such as "House of Cards" is spending heavily to produce and acquire content as it races to dominate streaming television in international markets, which now account for the majority of its subscriber growth.

In its quarterly letter to shareholders, Netflix said it would boost its content budget to between $7 billion and $8 billion in 2018.

"As we move into 2018, we aim to achieve steady improvement in international profitability and a growing operating margin as our success in many large markets helps fund investments throughout Asia and the rest of the world," the letter said.

“This is a company that is momentum stock and its momentum is really tied to its subscriber numbers, not necessarily its revenue or the earnings per share,” said Paul Sweeney, a Bloomberg analyst on the outlet’s channel.

The company faces increasing competition from streaming services such as Amazon.com's Prime Video, plus moves by traditional media companies. Walt Disney Co decided to yank its first-run movies from Netflix in the United States starting in 2019, and to launch its own online offering.

Netflix, in its investor letter, said Disney's decision underlined the need to keep building its slate of exclusive original content. "We have a good head start but our job is to improve Netflix as rapidly as possible," the company said.

But Hastings said on a webcast it was "extremely unlikely" that Netflix would bid on The Weinstein Company if the opportunity arose. The film production company is in talks to sell the bulk of its assets to Colony Capital following the firing of co-founder Harvey Weinstein.

To better cater to audiences, the streaming site has partnered with mobile telecommunications company T-mobile and added the telecom’s services into its family bundle plan in the United States. The same deal was made with SLR/Altice in France.