Investors have some high hopes for Netflix's (NFLX +0.96%) quarterly results, which are due out after the closing bell on Monday, July 21. Broadly speaking, they're banking on the streaming video giant to more than double profit year over year on a 25% boost in sales. But that's nothing close to the full story.
In the video below, Fool contributor Demitrios Kalogeropoulos describes three improving trends that shareholders should expect to see for Netflix to justify the stock's 40% rise since April. First, look for streaming margins in the U.S. business to climb toward 30%, which will tell us whether Netflix is still keeping a lid on content expense growth in relation to revenue gains.
Second, watch for international markets, as a group, to finally book a profit, or at least break even this quarter. That's important because it will be another piece of evidence in favor of the expensive push Netflix has planned into more countries this year. And finally, keep an eye on membership gains. Management forecast a weak quarter by that metric, but the popularity of exclusive content like Orange Is the New Black could provide an extra lift.
