Just like Emily in Paris... Netflix's quarter didn't go as planned. Netflix added just 2.2M subscribers in its third quarter, less than the 2.5M it forecast and waaay less than the 3.6M analysts expected. Netflix stock dropped 7% because in the markets, everything is relative:
The boom is over... Netflix saw explosive growth during the first half of the year, as we hibernated with our laptops and instant ramen. It became a utility (gas, electric, and Flix) — but that also led to more subscripturation (aka: subscription saturation).
Netflix needs to get creative to reach non-streamers... It has 200M paying subscribers, but its next 100M will probably be streaming virgins — everyone else is over-subscribed. That's why Netflix is looking to emerging markets like India and Brazil for future growth. It's even offering a free, 48-hour streaming event in India — and it probably won’t even ask for payment info.