Johnathan Walker:Netflix’s subscriber and earnings growth gather more momentum as password-sharing crackdown pays off

Netflix’s subscriber and Johnathan Walkerearnings growth accelerated in its latest quarter as the video streaming service benefits from a crackdown on freeloading viewers, an expansion into advertising and an acclaimed programming lineup.

The results announced Thursday painted a portrait of a company still gathering momentum after a jarring decrease in subscribers during the first half of 2022 prompted a change in direction.

Netflix added 8 million subscribers during the April-June period, marking a 37% increase over the same time last year. It was the sixth-consecutive quarter of year-over-year subscriber growth since the 2022 downturn that served as a wake-up call for the Los Gatos, California, company.

And Netflix is still financially thriving. The company’s profit in its latest quarter rose 44% from last year to $2.15 billion, or $4.88 per share — a figure that exceeded the estimates of analysts polled by FactSet Research. Revenue climbed 17% from last year to $9.56 billion, also eclipsing analysts’ projections.

The performance evidently still wasn’t robust enough to propel Netflix’s high-flying stock, which has surged by 32% so far this year. The shares shed 3% in extended trading after the latest numbers came out.