Netflix delivered worse than expected in the first quarter.
Netflix published its results for the first quarter of the year after the stock market closed in the US on Tuesday.
The electricity giant gained 1.75 million new subscribers in the quarter, against an expected 2.4 million new subscribers.
The result thus ended worse than expected and investors sent the Netflix share down more than 10 percent in after-market trading on Wall Street.
Turnover ended at $8.16 billion in the quarter and earnings of $2.88 per share.
In advance, it was expected that the company would have a turnover of 8.18 billion dollars and earn 2.86 dollars per share.
In the quarterly report, the company writes that it expects a turnover of 8.24 billion dollars for the second quarter of the year.
Cut prices
In the first and second quarters of last year, Netflix lost close to 1.2 million subscribers. Before that time, the company had never experienced negative subscription growth. The trend reversed in the third quarter, and Netflix has since then made several moves to lure back customers.
Among other things, the company launched a major initiative with advertising-funded subscriptions where users can choose to watch advertising in exchange for cheaper subscriptions. In the US, such subscriptions cost $6.99 per month.
In February, Netflix reduced prices in over 30 countries.
The cut came from the company trying to remain attractive to its customers, as competition from other streaming services has increased in recent years. Streaming services such as HBO Max and Disney+ are growing worldwide, and have led to greater competition in the market.
Netflix has cut prices in some countries in the Middle East, Europe, South America and Asia. In some cases, the cost of a subscription is halved.
The power giant also announced that it would tighten up on password sharing between users in the same household. The new sharing restrictions were launched in Canada, Spain, Portugal and New Zealand in February.
Surprised in the fourth quarter
In the fourth quarter, Netflix shattered expectations with strong growth in new subscribers. The figures from the fourth quarter showed that the company gained 7.6 million new paying subscribers. There were significantly more new users than expected. In advance, the company estimated that user growth would be 4.5 million globally.
