There's never a dull moment at Netflix (NFLX -2.52%), and the same can be said about its investors. It's been a wild 2022, ripe with layoffs and back-to-back quarters of sequential declines in global subscribers. The stock has plummeted 61% through the first three months of the year. Will October help turn things around?
Netflix has a lot to prove this month. There's an important financial update coming, of course. However, Netflix also has some big content hitting its platform to help keep members close in October. Investors may also get some news on the upcoming rollout of its ad-supported tier that could help improve churn by giving cost-conscious viewers a more affordable way to keep consuming the platform's content. Let's see where Netflix will go from here.
Image source: Getty Images.
Oct. 5
Netflix has evolved over the years. It was perfectly fine streaming third-party content for years, and then Lilyhammer happened in early 2012. It was the platform's first foray into original programming. Netflix was still young on the streaming front so the show didn't have much of an audience, but it planted the flag for House of Cards, Stranger Things, and countless other popular shows on the service.
A few years later, Netflix began to try its hand at big-budget original films. A movie may not have the same binge-worthy appeal of a series that can be enjoyed over several days, but it's another arrow in the quiver for Netflix. Mr. Harrigan's Phone debuts later this week, based on a Stephen King short story of a teen who befriends an elderly billionaire. Things take a dark turn after the titular character -- played by Donald Sutherland -- dies, but continues to communicate with his young friend by phone.
It's October, and this will be just the first film in the horror genre to hit the service this month. Pleasant dreams.
Oct. 18
The big day for Netflix comes in two weeks, as the bellwether for streaming media stocks reports its third-quarter results. After a rough first half of the year with net declines in global streaming paid memberships, guidance back in July called for a return to sequential growth for the quarter that ended over the weekend.
The rough first half will still leave a mark. Netflix sees revenue climbing just 5% higher since the prior year's showing, and earnings should contract. A lot may have happened since July when Netflix issued its outlook for the period, and its prognostications have already fallen short this year.
Netflix is also likely to provide some more color on a cheaper ad-supported monthly plan that it will roll out soon. Will the company release pricing or perhaps a firm timeline on the new offering's launch? If the quarter itself is a disappointment the news on this end better not be, for the sake of its shareholders.
Oct. 26
It's easy to dive into the rich pipeline of content coming to Netflix this month. It continues to deliver on the promise of its scalable model with a strong slate of original shows and films that expands alongside its audience of more than 220 million premium accounts. New seasons of Love Is Blind, Derry Girls, and Nailed It! will find their fans, and new shows could also become promising franchises.
I'll turn to another Netflix original movie instead. The Good Nurse is a film based on the real story of serial killer Charles Cullen. The big draw here is the two award-winning actors playing the lead roles, as Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne helm the flick. It's also unique in that the Netflix film is expected to screen at select theaters the week before. It won't likely drum up a lot of ticket sales with folks knowing it's hitting their homes a few days later, but it's another way that the company is trying to stand out in the suddenly crowded world of streaming services. At the very least it drives home the value proposition of a premium streaming platform.