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[thefool]

Netflix will no longer report subscriber numbers — which has been a key metric for streaming services for years — beginning with the first quarter of 2025.

Netflix Will Stop Reporting Subscriber Numbers Starting in 2025

Netflix will no longer report subscriber numbers -- which has been a key metric for streaming services for years -- beginning with the first quarter of 2025.

variety.com

If you don't report it, it's not going down

 

[demigod]

Never a good sign.

 

[PSYGN]

Good, it's unsustainable to have a rise in subscriptions forever.

 

[Fake]

Netflix is the new Mat Piscatella.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

I'm excited for the guaranteed wave of actually thought out, well budgeted creative affairs and adaptations that feature the right colored characters in the next five or so years after contemporary media as we currently know it is reduced to ground zero by wokites.

 

[poppabk]

Netflix Will Stop Reporting Subscriber Numbers Starting in 2025

Netflix will no longer report subscriber numbers -- which has been a key metric for streaming services for years -- beginning with the first quarter of 2025.

variety.com

If you don't report it, it's not going down

It's going up though, in fact it beat expectations. Revenue was the miss and that is what they want to focus trading on - revenue and profit.

 

[gow3isben]

You can’t say this is because they are failing like Xbox does they are having a record year in 2024

 

[Mr Hyde]

There are so many streaming services now who burns so much money to fill them with content that it is bound to go up in flames.

 

[Vicetrailia]

It's going up though, in fact it beat expectations. Revenue was the miss and that is what they want to focus trading on - revenue and profit.

So then their only plan is to cut cost, raise prices and extract blood from a stone because the competition couldn’t keep up.

The end of Netflix is here, it’s time for them to turn into how shitty internet/cable companies are/were

 

[adamsapple]

They added like 9 million new subscribers in one quarter, so it's not a matter of because they're losing them and don't want to report it.

Netflix Adds 9.33 Million Subscribers in Q1, Blowing Past Estimates to Reach Nearly 270 Million Total

Netflix reported its first-quarter 2024 earnings Thursday, adding 9.33 million subscribers by the end of March.

variety.com

 

[K' Dash]

They added like 9 million new subscribers in one quarter, so it's not a matter of because they're losing them and don't want to report it.

Netflix Adds 9.33 Million Subscribers in Q1, Blowing Past Estimates to Reach Nearly 270 Million Total

Netflix reported its first-quarter 2024 earnings Thursday, adding 9.33 million subscribers by the end of March.

variety.com

Well, they have consistently stuff I want to watch, same for Max. The other services? not so much.

 

[Panajev2001a]

They added like 9 million new subscribers in one quarter, so it's not a matter of because they're losing them and don't want to report it.

Netflix Adds 9.33 Million Subscribers in Q1, Blowing Past Estimates to Reach Nearly 270 Million Total

Netflix reported its first-quarter 2024 earnings Thursday, adding 9.33 million subscribers by the end of March.

variety.com

Or they expect the number to go down as they focus on extracting more profits with measures that would hurt the money fuelled acquisition and retention efforts?

 

[tamago84]

Reminds me of what apple did with their main hardware in 2018

 

[sankt-Antonio]

They added like 9 million new subscribers in one quarter, so it's not a matter of because they're losing them and don't want to report it.

Netflix Adds 9.33 Million Subscribers in Q1, Blowing Past Estimates to Reach Nearly 270 Million Total

Netflix reported its first-quarter 2024 earnings Thursday, adding 9.33 million subscribers by the end of March.

variety.com

They do this based on projections.
If they projected 9mill new users per quarter going forward they would shout it from the rooftops every chance they get.

 

[Spyxos]

They know that there are only a limited number of people who want to use their service. Of course the figures went up latly. But those days are probably over. Netflix is now expanding more strongly into gaming. I saw games on Netflix on my TV for the first time yesterday.

 

[DGrayson]

Subscribers go up. Price goes up! Subscribers goes down, price goes up! Dont report subscribers anymore, raise prices!

 

[SJRB]

Yeah casually stopping to report how many people use your service is always a good sign.

 

[FunkMiller]

There is no universe in which a publicly traded company stops reporting metrics for healthy reasons.

 

[GHG]

In its Q1 letter to shareholders, Netflix said that engagement — time spent with the service — is its “best proxy for customer satisfaction.” As such, it will no longer report quarterly membership numbers or average revenue per member (which it dubs “ARM”), as of Q1 2025. Netflix said it will announce “major subscriber milestones as we cross them” but will cease disclosing quarterly subscriber numbers

Engagement is oxygen.

 

[poppabk]

There is no universe in which a publicly traded company stops reporting metrics for healthy reasons.

Wanting to trade on fundamental profit and revenue - not a good sign?

 

[GHG]

Wanting to trade on fundamental profit and revenue - not a good sign?

That's not what they said though.

They are switching to reporting on "engagement" numbers which are far more easy to manipulate and much more difficult to forecast on (from an investment analyst perspective), hence the reaction in the stock.

People want to know about the numbers which make the business money, not numbers that don't.

If the sell-off worsens then don't be surprised to see them reverse the decision.

 

[poppabk]

That's not what they said though.

They are switching to reporting on "engagement" numbers which are far more easy to manipulate and much more difficult to forecast on (from an investment analyst perspective), hence the reaction in the stock.

People want to know about the numbers which make the business money, not numbers that don't.

If the sell-off worsens then don't be surprised to see them reverse the decision.

“As we’ve noted in previous letters, we’re focused on revenue and operating margin as our primary financial metrics — and engagement (i.e. time spent) as our best proxy for customer satisfaction. In our early days, when we had little revenue or profit, membership growth was a strong indicator of our future potential,” Netflix said in the letter. “But now we’re generating very substantial profit and free cash flow (FCF). We are also developing new revenue streams like advertising and our extra member feature, so memberships are just one component of our growth.”

Seems like engagement is a very minor part of this - profit is front and center.

 

[GHG]

“As we’ve noted in previous letters, we’re focused on revenue and operating margin as our primary financial metrics — and engagement (i.e. time spent) as our best proxy for customer satisfaction. In our early days, when we had little revenue or profit, membership growth was a strong indicator of our future potential,” Netflix said in the letter. “But now we’re generating very substantial profit and free cash flow (FCF). We are also developing new revenue streams like advertising and our extra member feature, so memberships are just one component of our growth.”

Seems like engagement is a very minor part of this - profit is front and center.

Well swapping out subscription numbers for "engagement" (whatever they want that to mean at any given time) isn't minor for any investment firm that takes a data-driven approach.

In fact, it can go as far as to make the company uninvestable for them due to lacking a key metric that forecasts can be based on.

How do Netflix currently make the vast majority of their income? I'll give you a hint, it's not "engagement".

 

[FunkMiller]

How do Netflix currently make the vast majority of their income? I'll give you a hint, it's not "engagement".

Subscription services are judged to be successful or not based on how many subscribers it has.

Netflix has spent the last decade trumpeting its subscriber growth as a sign of its success.

The fact they are now changing to this nebulous term 'engagement' absolutely screams that they are no longer adding subscribers at the kind of rate that pleases the shareholders.

It's delicious that they have created the very metric that might pull them down in the long run.

 

[poppabk]

Subscription services are judged to be successful or not based on how many subscribers it has.

Netflix has spent the last decade trumpeting its subscriber growth as a sign of its success.

The fact they are now changing to this nebulous term 'engagement' absolutely screams that they are no longer adding subscribers at the kind of rate that pleases the shareholders.

It's delicious that they have created the very metric that might pull them down in the long run.

They beat expectations by an extra 5 million subscribers. They are at 270 million subscribers - they are 'there' as far as having subscribers - at a certain point it's like NBC touting the number of US households with a TV rather than actual viewer figures. They know they have to plateau eventually but as long as they can keep increasing revenue and profit they are still 'growing'.

 

[Pop]

Netflix got evil plans for 2025

Raising them prices again I bet

 

[thefool]

Wanting to trade on fundamental profit and revenue - not a good sign?

Of course it's not a good sign. Information should be public and its up for the investors to act upon it.
Companies withholding information is merely an act of obfuscation.

The result:

 

[GHG]

They beat expectations by an extra 5 million subscribers. They are at 270 million subscribers - they are 'there' as far as having subscribers - at a certain point it's like NBC touting the number of US households with a TV rather than actual viewer figures. They know they have to plateau eventually but as long as they can keep increasing revenue and profit they are still 'growing'.

You're not getting it. If all that investors cared about was how much money they are making then that would be reflected in the stock since Netflix just beat both top and bottom line estimates, however there is more to this story and Netflix decided to throw a curveball.

The market is forward looking. If you take away the very thing that enables investors to make logical forecasts and forward looking statements (the latter being more applicable for hedge funds to their clients) for future earnings growth (and the increase in share price that will result in) then it becomes a difficult proposition to justify investing in.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Good, it's unsustainable to have a rise in subscriptions forever.

We are not talking forever.

 

[jakinov]

Reporting susbscriber counts doesn't paint a good picture of how well the business is doing anyore.

You can have a subscriber that's paying on average $5 USD a month in the most popualted country in the world India bringing down your revenue per user. You can have their growth there causing a net positive growth in subscribers while your loss is happening in a region where peopel are on average paying $15 USD a month. You lose 1M subscribers in America and gain 2.5M subscribers in India leading to net of 1.5M subscribers. That looks positive but you are making less money.

People used to be impressed by how many subscribers Disney had worldwide. When you break it down most of them were subscribers who weren't paying a lot of money which is partly why they were losing so much money compared to their compeitors who have far less subscribers.

This has always been an issue with the metric but the decrease in improtance is exasberated by having such high market penetation, the introduction of ads and introduction of paid sharing (people can pay extra for sub-accounts that don't count as full members). If you have millions of ad supported users and you see increase engagement, that can lead to higher revenue. When you invest in improving the business, i.e. making better bets or investing in efficiency that leads also to more profits. When you increase prices and see minimal churn, that leads to more profits. Sub growth is increasingly more of a distraction.

Netflix said they will still share subscribers numbers, just not every 3 months with predictions on what that number will grow to every 3 months.

In regards to stock price, people will react however they want to react. It doesn't mean they know what will happen in the future or indicative of what all the investors thing. So far the general sentiment with major investor and analysts is still postive.