Netflix Stock Adds Swedish Film to International Selection

Netflix Stock

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is increasing its international content inventory with the release of A Day and a Half, a Swedish drama thriller, on September 1.

Fares Fares (of Westworld and Chernobyl renown) directs the film and also plays police officer Lukas. The lead actors in the film are Alexej Manvelov and Alma Pöysti.

Netflix’s international content pipeline includes films and television episodes in a variety of languages, including Danish, German, Korean, and Sami.

See You in My 19th Life (premiering June 17), King the Land (premiering June 17), Behind Your Touch, Destined with You, A Time Called You (premiering in the third quarter of 2023), and Doona! (premiering in the fourth quarter of 2023) are among the six new Korean shows planned to debut on Netflix.

The Brazilian cartoon series Wake Up, Carlo!, the Thai series DELETE (June 28), and the Korean drama Bloodhounds are all important additions to the portfolio.

A Strong Portfolio to Fuel Growth

Netflix’s community support strategy in the regions where it operates expands its footprint. Its ever-expanding foreign language content portfolio has been a major growth driver as the company continues to face stiff competition in the saturated streaming market from the likes of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Disney (NYSE:DIS) and Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA).

In the first quarter of 2023, Netflix gained 1.75 million paid customers worldwide. In the previous quarter, it lost 0.2 million paid customers.

The corporation had 232.5 million paid users worldwide at the end of the first quarter, increasing 4.9% year on year.

Netflix stock is up 38.8% year to date, compared to an 8.5% increase in the Consumer Discretionary category. NFLX shares have also outpaced Comcast and Disney while falling short of Apple. Apple, Comcast, and Disney shares have returned 39%, 15.7%, and 6.5%, respectively.

A diverse content inventory, lower-cost ad-supported subscriptions, and a password-sharing effort are all helping Netflix. Hit shows such as The Night Agent, The Glory, Full Swing, and That 90s Show aided the company’s subscriber growth in the first quarter of 2023.

Netflix’s ad-supported, lower-cost options are gaining popularity. On November 3, 2022, the firm introduced its ad-supported service, with the base plan costing $6.99 per month in the United States.

Disney follows in the footsteps of Netflix by launching an ad-supported tier on December 8, 2022. Its streaming service, Disney+, had 157.8 million paid customers as of April 1, 2023, up from 161.8 million as of December 31, 2022.

Netflix recently unveiled its paid-sharing strategy in the United States, informing customers that their accounts could no longer be shared for free with people outside their households. In the first quarter of 2023, the firm will introduce the paid-sharing model in Canada, New Zealand, Spain, and Portugal.

Despite the negative impact of password sharing in the short run, Netflix’s great content offering is expected to help them acquire new members. This business presently estimates earnings of $2.84 per share in the second quarter of 2023. 

The Consensus Estimate for earnings in the second quarter of 2023 is $2.79 per share, down a couple of cents in the last 30 days.

Featured Image:

Please See Disclaimer

About the author: Stephanie Bédard-Châteauneuf has over seven years of experience writing financial content for various websites. Over the years, Stephanie has covered various industries, with a primary focus on tech stocks, consumer stocks, market news, and personal finance. She has an MBA in finance.