U.S. streaming giant Netflix (NFLX) has announced mixed financial results for this year’s first quarter and said that it is delaying its global crackdown on password sharing.
For the quarter ended March 31 of this year, Netflix reported earnings of $1.31 billion U.S., or $2.88 U.S. per share. That compares to $1.6 billion U.S., or $3.53 U.S. a share, a year earlier.
Revenue at Netflix grew to $8.16 billion U.S. in Q1 from $7.87 billion U.S. a year ago.
Analysts who cover the company had been looking for Netflix to report earnings per share of $2.86 U.S. and revenue of $8.18 billion U.S., according to Refinitiv data.
When releasing its earnings, Netflix said it now plans to rollout its worldwide crackdown on password sharing in the current second quarter.
The company had originally planned to launch the crackdown in Q1, though it has trialed it in some markets, including Canada.
Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing has been a top issue at the company. Netflix has said that more than 100 million households share accounts rather than pay for their own account.
This February, Netflix trialed its password sharing crackdown in four countries: New Zealand, Canada, Portugal and Spain.
Netflix said that in Canada its membership base has risen and its revenue growth has accelerated due to the password sharing crackdown.
However, Netflix’s latest numbers show that it missed Wall Street estimates for subscriber growth, adding 1.75 million new customers in Q1 compared to 2.41 million that had been expected by analysts.
Netflix’s stock has declined 4% over the past year to trade at $333.70 U.S. per share.
Tech Insider
