Netflix Stock Jumps 10% to All-Time High as Strong Subscriber Additions Ease Growth Concerns

netflix actions hit an all-time high on Friday, boosted by investor optimism that its strong range of content willpower helping the streaming giant maintain optimistic subscriber growth even as momentum from its crackdown on password sharing wanes.

The company, widely seen as the winner of the Hollywood streaming war, saw its shares rise almost 10% and was set to add more than $28 billion to its market value of about $295 billion, if the profits were maintained.

It beat estimates for quarterly subscriber additions by more than 1 million and projected higher signups sequentially for the final three months of the year when South Korean drama “Squid Game” returns.

The benefits of the company and revenue It also beat estimates, a positive sign of its efforts to divert investor attention from subscriber growth amid what some analysts see as an inevitable slowdown in subscriptions after the success of its restrictions on password sharing.

The 5.1 million users Netflix added in the third quarter was down from 8.76 million additions in the same period a year earlier.

“The third quarter showed the slowdown in subscriber growth we expected, but Netflix has other areas of opportunity to continue driving its financial performance,” said Morningstar analyst Matthew Dolgin. Part of the push includes price increases. After raising rates in Japan, the Middle East and Africa, as well as parts of Europe, in recent weeks, Netflix is ​​raising prices in Italy and Spain, and some analysts expect a similar move in the United States next year. “Netflix did not announce any price changes, although it did hint that there is room to take prices with a stronger commitment,” Bernstein analysts said.

The ad-supported tier also showed signs of progress, accounting for more than 50% of subscriptions in countries where it was available in the third quarter, although Netflix does not expect advertising become the main growth engine until 2026.

At least 20 analysts raised their price targets for the stock following the results, bringing the median target at $760 from $706.38, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Netflix shares were trading at 30.40 times forward 12-month earnings estimates, compared with 18.50 for Walt Disney and 9.65 for Comcast.

So far this year, Netflix shares are up about 41.2%, Disney shares are up 6.9%, while Warner Bros. Discovery has lost about 31%.

Netflix is ​​banking on strong programming including the new movie “Knives Out,” the final season of “Stranger Things” and live events including two National Football League games on Christmas Day to attract subscribers.

“Its peers in the traditional media space are losing money hand over fist, meaning Netflix can leverage its advantage in content creation while others can’t bear to allocate more capital,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.