Netflix had an unimaginable closing quarter of 2024, and at the moment the corporate — and its buyers — are reaping the spoils.
Shares in Netflix (NFLX on the NASDAQ) skyrocketed $100 apiece on Tuesday afternoon following the discharge of the corporate’s fourth-quarter financials. In a letter to shareholders, Netflix revealed report progress of almost 19 million subscribers, completely blowing away media analysts’ forecasts. Netflix income topped $10 billion, although its quarterly revenue declined. Regardless of, there’s a repair for that: Netflix additionally introduced worth will increase throughout every of its subscription plans. In flip, Netflix forecast better-than-previously-expected income progress for the present quarter, Q1 of 2025. Wall Avenue loves that stuff.
How a lot? We are able to quantify that.
When the inventory exchanges opened this morning, NFLX shares almost hit $1,000 apiece (as an alternative settling for an all-time excessive of $999). Netflix’s market cap is now north of $400 billion; keep in mind when Blockbuster Video handed on shopping for the corporate at $50 million?
For some latest perspective on the surge in Netflix’s valuation, in fall 2021, earlier than The Nice Netflix Correction, shares gave the impression to be headed for $700. After reporting a surprising loss in subscribers within the first quarter of 2022, shares of NFLX dropped beneath $200.
It’s been fairly the comeback.
And media analysts see no ceiling. Effectively, that’s not totally appropriate — it’s extra like they simply vaulted the ceiling to the roofline.
Jessica Reif Ehrlich, a analysis analyst for Financial institution of America and a daily interviewer on Netflix’s earnings “name” (Netflix for a few years carried out a prerecorded video interview format and never a dwell name), already noticed NFLX at being value $1,000; now, she’s all the way in which as much as $1,175.
Jason Helstein of Oppenheimer raised his personal goal from $1,040 to $1,150. It’s a preferred worth goal (PT): Tim Nollen from Macquarie is on the identical quantity, up from $965. As is Alicia Reese of Wedbush, now $200 above her prior $950 goal; John Hodulik of UBS can be at $1,150, up an entire $10 from his prior PT of $1,140.
Mark Mahaney of Evercore ISI is up from $950 to $1,100. Barton Crockett of Rosenblatt Securities is both nuts or a prophet — to not be confused with “revenue,” which is what you’ll make if his funding recommendation comes true — mountaineering his worth goal all the way in which from $680 to $1,494.
Any person wake the boys at Deutsche Financial institution: Bryan Kraft, Spencer Amer, Benjamin Soff, and Victor-A Odiwuor are at $875 per share. They’re both late to the get together or simply slow-playing: DB’s prior NFLX PT was $650.
With $1,000 clearly in sight, Netflix might be headed for its first inventory cut up in a decade. Whereas none of this (from us) ought to be thought-about funding recommendation, it does have my IndieWire 401k questioning: The place can I discover a time machine again to the DVD days?