The Netflix: Streaming The Stock's PotentialKEY POINTS
a. Netflix now has 15 million subscribers in its ad-supported tier.
b. The company is also rolling out new ad products.
c. The success of the new subscription tier is just one of the reasons the stock has surged this year.
The leading streamer just hit a key milestone with its ad business.
Netflix (NFLX 1.80%) was one of the best-performing stocks of the 2010s, but for much of the current decade, the once-meteoric growth stock has struggled to achieve liftoff.
The company got a temporary boost from the pandemic, only to give it all back and then some when the economy reopened in 2022, and it lost subscribers two quarters in a row. Since then, the streaming leader has regrouped, launching initiatives that some investors had long asked for, such as adding an ad-supported tier and cracking down on password sharing.
The results of those moves have been overwhelmingly successful with the stock up 47% year to date, even as many of its streaming peers like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are trading near 52-week lows.
With the help of paid sharing, Netflix has added nearly 15 million new subscribers over the last two quarters, beating its total additions from the previous five quarters. The stock jumped following the third-quarter earnings report in October on strong subscriber growth as well.
Building on this recent momentum, Netflix provided an update Wednesday that shows its new ad-based strategy is paying off.
A key milestone
It's been one year since the company launched its ad-supported tier in a handful of its biggest markets, and the company said the new service has now signed up 15 million subscribers, up from just 5 million in May. That news should not only tamp down concerns that growth from this tier has been weaker than expected but also show that the ad-supported option is clearly resonating with subscribers. Additionally, it's impressive to see those gains coming at a time when much of the digital advertising industry is struggling.
That figure represents more than half of net subscriber additions over the last year, though some of the ad-tier subscribers likely traded down from the more expensive ad-free tiers, especially after Netflix just raised prices on some of its plans in the U.S., U.K., and France.
Netflix has also refined its advertising product since launch and now offers five different ad lengths, ranging from 10 seconds to 60 seconds. It also offers targeting to mobile devices as well as options like more genres, time of day, and new audience demographics. Downloads are expected to be available by the end of the week, making Netflix the only ad-supported streamer to offer downloads.
The company has more new features planned for next year, including a binge-watching bonus that gives ad-tier subscribers an ad-free episode after they've watched three episodes in a row. It will also begin offering QR codes in ads and is expanding its partnerships program globally, allowing advertisers to sponsor certain shows.
Netflix's ad-supported tier may cannibalize some ad-free subscribers, but that's part of the company's strategy. Offering ads gives it cover to raise prices on ad-free tiers, as it just did, allowing the company to make more money from the ad-free side of the business (with the idea that the ad-supported tier should be revenue-neutral compared to the ad-free subscription, as it has been for Hulu).
The ad-tier option also capitalizes on massive existing demand from advertisers. As former CEO Reed Hastings noted in an Oct. 2022 earnings call, advertisers have been left behind by the transition to streaming and are anxious to follow the eyeballs that have already gravitated over to streaming services.
With more than 200 million subscribers globally, intimate knowledge of their viewing habits, and the ability to perform precise targeting, Netflix can offer advertisers much more than a traditional linear TV platform.
Why it's a buy
A little more than a year ago, investors seemed to think the growth story at Netflix was over. However, the recent rebound and strength from paid sharing and advertising shows the streamer's second act is well underway.
The company forecast subscriber additions of around 9 million in the current quarter, showing the recent momentum should continue, and its subscription business model means that incremental revenue flows through to the bottom line. Indeed, management sees operating margin improving from 20% this year to 22% to 23% in 2024.
If Netflix can continue to deliver subscriber growth, there's room for profits to go significantly higher. The success of the ad-supported tier will only make that easier.
