Netflix Stock Crashes to Three-Year Low on ‘Shocking’ Subscriber Miss

variety.com:

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorNetflix shares plummeted to their lowest point since December 2018 as investors reacted to the streamer’s first subscriber loss in more than a decade — bringing years of booming growth to a screeching halt.The stock was below $254 per share in premarket trading Wednesday, down 27% from the previous closing price and sinking to a more than three-year low.

That came after Netflix posted a Q1 loss of 200,000 subscribers and projected that it will lose another 2 million subs in Q2, prompting several analyst downgrades.

Netflix shares have shed more than 60% of their value over the last six months.Among other factors, co-CEO Reed Hastings blamed the subscriber shrinkage on “great competition” and the company’s estimate that more than 100 million households are streaming the service using a shared password without paying for it.

To try to right the ship, Netflix is aiming to convert freeloading password-users into subscribers and to roll out a lower-cost, ad-supported tier over the next two years.“I know it’s disappointing for investors, and it is for sure,” Hastings said on Netflix’s Q1 video interview Tuesday. “But internally, we’re really geared up, and this is like our moment to shine.