Netflix price: Why Netflix's share price plummeted today, latest share price - and will Netflix stock go up?
Streaming giant Netflix has taken a severe hit to its share price after the company admitted that growth of rival streaming services such as Amazon Prime “may be affecting our marginal growth some".
Netflix’s share price is down almost 25% on the last 24 hours today (Friday January 21) as of 9.52pm UK time after the company revealed that its subscriber numbers in 2021 had fallen sharply on the previous year.
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Hide AdDespite the success of TV series such as Squid Game and films like Don’t Look Up in 2021, Netflix has warned of slower growth in subscriber numbers as its dominance in the streaming market comes under threat from rival platforms like Prime and Disney Plus.
Here’s why Netflix’s share price fell by a fifth today, its latest stock price and when Netflix’s price is expected to rally.
Why is Netflix’s share price down today?
Netflix’s share price fell as markets opened on Friday morning as the impact of its final 2021 quarterly earnings release on Thursday (January 20) shook investors and led to sell-offs on Wall Street.
The streaming giant enjoyed substantial growth in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic helped to drive some 37 million subscriptions on the platform.
However, Netflix’s fourth quarter earnings release showed that the company gained 8.3 million subscribers in the final quarter of 2021 instead of a forecasted 8.5 million.
The company’s filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed an increase of just over 18 million subscribers in total in 2021 to give the platform 222 million subscribers overall.
Shareholders were told that despite uncertainties the company was "optimistic" about its long-term growth.
"Even in a world of uncertainty and increasing competition, we're optimistic about our long-term growth prospects as streaming supplants linear entertainment around the world," the company said.
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Hide Ad"Consumers have always had many choices when it comes to their entertainment time - competition that has only intensified over the last 24 months as entertainment companies all around the world develop their own streaming offering.
"While this added competition may be affecting our marginal growth some, we continue to grow in every country and region in which these new streaming alternatives have launched".
How much is Netflix stock worth today?
Netflix’s share price fell sharply from Thursday’s closing price of $508.25 a share on the tech-heavy Nasdaq index as markets opened on Friday morning.
NFLX prices dropped by more than 100 points as of 9.30am Eastern Time (EST) in the US to $400.68, before dipping even lower into the red at $384.85 by 10.30am.
As of 3pm EST in the US (8pm UK time), Netflix stock was trading at $392.62.
When will Netflix share prices rally?
With 2022 looking to be a big year for post-pandemic recovery for the entertainment and streaming sector, Netflix’s stock price will no doubt rise if investors are reassured by new series, films and games to capture audiences.
But the platform will have plenty of convincing to do as Amazon Prime releases further details of its upcoming Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power series and more Marvel and Star Wars spin-off titles coming to Disney Plus in 2022.
As anticipation for potential releases on Disney Plus such as Spider Man: No Way Home builds in the coming months, Netflix will be facing even more competition to rival its reign as it expects to add just 2.5 million new subscribers globally in the first quarter of 2022.
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Hide AdAdditional reporting by PA Los Angeles Correspondent Mike Bedigan