Netflix added fewer subscribers than it projected in Q2, shares dropped 10%

Netflix added far fewer new subscribers than it projected it would add in the second quarter of 2019.

The streaming giant only added 2.7 million global subscribers in the April-June period, well below expectations of 5 million new subscribers.

The company lost approximately 130,000 subscribers in the United States.

“Our missed forecast was across all regions, but slightly more so in regions with price increases,” Netflix said.

“While our US paid membership was essentially flat in Q2, we expect it to return to more typical growth in Q3, and are seeing that in these early weeks of Q3,” the company added.

Shares in the company plunged by as much as 10% after the lackluster numbers were released – dropping to $317.91 on Wednesday afternoon.

The online streaming sector is also becoming increasingly competitive, with streaming services from Disney and WarnerMedia scheduled to soon roll out.

“We don’t believe competition was a factor since there wasn’t a material change in the competitive landscape during [the second quarter] and competitive intensity and our penetration is varied across regions,” Netflix said in its quarterly letter to investors.

“Rather, we think Q2’s content slate drove less growth in paid net adds than we anticipated.” 

The company projects Q3 global paid net adds of 7.0m, up from 6.1 million in Q3’18, with 0.8 million in the US and 6.2 million internationally.

“Our internal forecast still currently calls for annual global paid net adds to be up year over year. There’s no change to our 13% operating margin target for FY19, up 300 basis points year over year,” the company said.