Netflix's Mountain of Debt Isn't a Problem...Yet
It looks like streaming giant Netflix's (NASDAQ: NFLX) days as a high-flying growth stock are officially over. Following a pandemic bonanza of new subscribers and soaring revenue, the company's first-quarter report featured its first loss of subscribers in a decade. Netflix expected to gain as many as 4 million subscribers, but it instead lost around 200,000.
The company's outlook and knee-jerk reaction didn't provide any reassurance. Netflix expects to lose as many as 2 million subscribers in the second quarter, although its guidance range has a lot of uncertainty baked in. The company is planning a crackdown on password sharing, something it's largely let slide in the past to boost its viewership. And an ad-supported version of its service is now on the table, which would have been unthinkable a few years ago.
Netflix still has nearly 220 million paid subscribers, so none of this is the end of the world for the company. The stock is another story. Shares of Netflix were down close to 40% at one point Wednesday as investors abandoned the streaming leader.
Source Fool.com
