Netflix under pressure

Investment Analysis Clubs Macro Economic Trends and Risks
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https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/01/media/stranger-things-netflix…

“Stranger Things 4 — Vol. 2” hits Netflix this weekend, and the kids from Hawkins, Indiana, are back at just the right time for the streaming giant.

It’s been an awful 2022 for Netflix. Its stock is down 70% this year. In April, the company reported that it lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade. Last week, Netflix laid off 300 employees. Its earnings report later this month is projected to show a loss of two million more subscribers.

But there’s one thing that has been great for Netflix (NFLX): “Stranger Things.”

So why would a company that revolutionized the viewing experience with binge watching split up its biggest franchise into two parts? The answer isn’t strange at all.

The two premieres take place in two different quarters for the company. “Stranger Things 4— Vol. 1” dropped on May 27, which is in Netflix’s second quarter, and “Vol. 2” hits on July 1, which kicks off the company’s third.

Fans of the popular show are hardly going to cancel their membership before they’ve seen the entire season. With new episodes straddling two different quarters around holiday weekends, the company has a better chance of retaining subscribers, which it needs to do to keep Wall Street happy.

COVID givith and and the vaccines taketh away

Jeff

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70% hit YTD? Yikes! That’s very ugly.

I was driving in to work on the day Netflix announced they were trimming their head-count.

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Is this drop in subscribers that ominous?

I only get the paid services during the colder months of the year. During that period, I subscribe to just one at a time and rotate to a different subscription after the month is up. That way, I get the benefits of multiple services for just a modest amount of money per month. So I subscribe to Netflix for one month, Hulu for a month, Paramount Plus for a month, and HBO Max for a month.

I’ve never had a bad experience with ANY of these streaming services. I cancel my subscription in order to try a different service or because the weather is warming up and Couch Potato Season is ending.

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