Netflix shares rise after profits rise on hit series “Nobody Wants This” and “Emily in Paris”

Shares of Netflix rose about 9% in early trading Friday after a strong earnings report driven by hit shows like “Nobody Wants This” and “The Perfect Couple.”

The company added about 5 million subscribers in the three-month period ending in September, down about 40% from the same period last year.

Still, subscriber gains contributed nearly $10 billion in total revenue, driven in part by the increasing popularity of a subscription tier with advertising, Thursday's earnings report said. This sales figure represented an increase of 15% compared to the same period last year.

In total, Netflix has around 282 million subscribers worldwide, making it by far the most popular streaming service. By comparison, Warner Bros. Discovery has about 103 million subscribers across its HBO, HBO Max and Discovery+ services, an August earnings report showed.

“We feel really good about the business,” Ted Sarandos, the company’s co-CEO, said in a conference call with Wall Street analysts.

Last quarter's notable programming included the latest season of “Emily in Paris” and films such as “Monster High 2” and “Rebel Ridge.” The company also expanded its live broadcasts, showing a duel between hot dog-eating rivals Takeru Kobayashi and Choey Chestnut in September.

In announcing its earnings, Netflix reported viewership of about two hours per user per day, which the company said represents an increase so far this year compared to last year.

The company expects continued growth next year on a programming slate that includes new seasons of top shows such as “Wednesday” and “Squid Game” as well as an additional installment of the “Knives Out” film series, Netflix said.

Netflix forecast revenue of up to $44 billion next year, which would represent an increase of about 13% over current performance.

Even after expanding its audience, Netflix still reaches less than 10% of TV viewers in the countries where the platform is most popular, Netflix said.

“There is a huge opportunity to grow,” Netflix co-CEO Gregory Peters said Thursday.