Netflix had a banner year in 2020, boosted by a global pandemic that triggered a wave of home entertainment viewing and popular series such as “The Queen’s Gambit.”
The Los Gatos, Calif., streamer broke its all-time record for net additional subscribers in 2020, gaining 37 million for the year, compared with its previous record gain of 28.6 million new subscribers in 2018. At the end of last year, Netflix reported about 204 million subscribers worldwide.
Due to the surge of subscribers during the first half of last year, Netflix projected that growth would slow in the fourth quarter.
The number of new subscribers declined 3 percent to 8.5 million in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier. Still, the growth was better than expected. The company and analysts had projected about 6 million subscriber additions in the quarter.
Netflix cited the success of original programming such as “The Queen’s Gambit,” which premiered in October, drawing 62 million households in its first 28 days.
Netflix revenue in the fourth quarter increased 22 percent to $6.6 billion compared with the same period last year, while net income declined 8 percent to $542 million, or $1.19 a share, during the quarter. Revenue matched analysts’ projections, but Netflix missed Wall Street’s earnings estimates of $1.36 a share, according to FactSet.
Netflix said its fourth quarter net income included a $258-million non-cash loss related to its European debt.
The company is the dominant video subscription streaming service in the U.S., but rivals such as Disney+ are gaining ground. A significant advantage Disney has is its deep library of children’s content and popular brands including “Star Wars” to attract new subscribers.
Disney+ had seven of the top 10 movies that were streamed last year based on time spent viewing, according to Nielsen. Many of those titles were animated. Disney+, which launched in November 2019, already has more than 86 million subscribers.
