Netflix (NFLX) Chooses Jon Spaihts to Pen Gears of War Movie
Netflix NFLX recently announced that Jon Spaihts, well-known for Dune and Doctor Strange, will be writing its upcoming movie based on the famous franchise of video games, Gears of War. The move reflects Netflix’s plan to tap the Gears of War fanbase.
Netflix is trying to solidify its footprint in new genres, thereby expanding its subscriber base amid stiff competition from the likes of Amazon AMZN, Apple AAPL and Disney DIS.
Netflix shares have declined by 21.5% in the past year compared with Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector’s fall of 20.5% during the same period. However, NFLX shares have managed to outperform Amazon and Disney but lagged Apple over the same period. Shares of Amazon, Disney and Apple have declined by 39.5%, 31.1% and 7.2%, respectively.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, the streaming giant gained 7.66 million paid subscribers, higher than its estimate of 4.6 million users. At the end of the fourth quarter, the company had 230.75 million paid subscribers globally, up 4% year over year.
Netflix, Inc. Price and Consensus
Netflix, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Netflix, Inc. Quote
Netflix’s Innovative Content to Gain Subscribers
Netflix is working hard to expand its subscriber base. It has introduced games to keep users engaged and is also removing the password-sharing feature to boost its revenues.
However, streaming peers continue to gain popularity and market share. Apple’s streaming platform, Apple TV+, is slowly but strongly gaining popularity with its critically acclaimed and popular shows like Ted Lasso.
Moreover, Apple’s The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film this year. Last year, Apple won three Academy Awards for CODA. Disney’s upcoming movies and shows like Star Wars: Visions, Loki Season 2, Echo and more could bring some challenges for Netflix.
However, Netflix’s expanding and diverse content portfolio is expected to help it gain new subscribers. This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company currently expects total first-quarter 2023 revenues to be $8.172 billion, suggesting year-over-year growth of 3.9%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
For the first quarter of 2023, Netflix forecasts earnings of $2.82 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current quarter is pegged at $2.81 per share.
For 2023, Netflix expects revenues on a foreign-exchange neutral basis to accelerate during the year. Paid net additions are likely to be greater in the second quarter of 2023 compared with the first quarter due to the rollout of paid sharing more expansively.
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