Streaming video company Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) today released financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 ended December 31. According to the financial report, Netflix’s fourth-quarter revenue was $7.709 billion, an increase of 16.0% from $6.644 billion in the same period last year; net profit was $607 million, an increase of 12.0% from $542 million in the same period last year.
Netflix’s fourth-quarter revenue and earnings per share exceeded analysts’ consensus expectations, and the global net addition of users was also better than expected, but the year-on-year growth rate slowed down and was not as good as its own guidance expectations, dragging the stock price down 19% in after-hours trading.
Netflix opened Thursday at $517.75 on the Nasdaq exchange. As of Thursday’s close, Netflix shares fell $7.61, or 1.48%, to close at $508.25. As of 16:51 EST on Thursday (5:51 GMT on Friday), Netflix shares fell $98.25, or 19.33%, to $410.00 in after-hours trading. In the past 52 weeks, Netflix’s stock price has been as high as $700.99 and as low as $478.54.
Fourth-quarter results highlights:
The global number of paid subscribers of streaming media services was 221.84 million, an increase of 8.9% from 203.66 million in the same period of the previous year; a net increase of 8.28 million was lower than the net increase of 8.51 million in the same period of the previous year;
Among them, the number of paid streaming media subscribers in the United States and Canada (UCAN) region was 75.22 million, a net increase of 1.19 million, which was higher than the net increase of 860,000 in the same period last year; streaming media paid subscribers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region It was 74.04 million, a net increase of 3.54 million, lower than the net increase of 4.46 million in the same period last year; the Latin America region (LATAM) streaming media paid subscribers were 39.96 million, a net increase of 970,000, lower than the same period last year. Net increase of 1.21 million; streaming paid subscribers in Asia Pacific (APAC) were 32.63 million, a net increase of 2.58 million, higher than the net increase of 1.99 million in the same period last year;
Revenue was US$7.709 billion, an increase of 16.0% from US$6.644 billion in the same period last year;
Among them, the streaming media service revenue in the United States and Canada was 3.309 billion US dollars, an increase of 11.0% compared with the 2.980 billion US dollars in the same period of the previous year; the streaming media service revenue in Europe, the Middle East and Africa were 2.523 billion US dollars, compared with the same period last year. Revenues from streaming services in Latin America were $964 million, up 22.2% from $789 million in the same period last year; streaming services revenue in the Asia Pacific was $871 million, up 22.2% from $789 million in the same period last year. US$685 million in the same period increased by 27.2%;
Operating profit was US$632 million, down 33.8% from US$954 million in the same period last year; operating profit margin was 8.2%, down 6.2 percentage points from 14.4% in the same period last year;
- Net profit was US$607 million, an increase of 12.0% from US$542 million in the same period last year;
- Diluted earnings per share were $1.33, an increase of 11.8% from $1.19 a year earlier;
- Net cash provided by operating activities was $403 million, compared to $138 million a year earlier; free cash flow was -$569 million, compared to -$284 million a year earlier. For the full year 2021, free cash flow was -$159 million, broadly in line with expectations of “approximately breakeven.”
Outlook for the first quarter:
The global paid subscribers of streaming media services are expected to be 224.34 million, an increase of 8.0% from 207.64 million in the same period of the previous year, and a net increase of 2.5 million is expected, which is lower than the net increase of 3.98 million in the same period of the previous year;
- Revenue is expected to be $7.903 billion, an increase of 10.3% from $7.163 billion in the same period last year;
Operating profit is expected to be US$1.765 billion, down 9.9% from US$1.960 billion in the same period last year; operating profit margin is 22.3%, down 5.1 percentage points from 27.4% in the same period last year;
- Net profit is expected to be US$1.304 billion, down 23.6% from US$1.707 billion in the same period last year;
- Diluted earnings per share are expected to be $2.86, down 23.7% from $3.75 a year earlier.