Netflix Earnings Preview: Subscribers Are Key

Shares of Netflix (NFLX) - Get Report are in focus ahead of the release of its fourth-quarter financial results. Analysts expect earnings of 21 cents a share on revenue of about $2.5 billion. But investors will be closely monitoring how many subscribers were added during the period.

For the third quarter, Netflix says the number of subscribers rose by 3.6 million, driven by more than 3 million subscribers overseas. A strong slate of shows, including "Narcos" and "Stranger Things," helped renew momentum.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2017, analysts at William Blair believe a key milestone will be reached this year. They believe Netflix will top 100 million global streaming subscriptions and estimate that international will account for more than half of the total number of streaming subscriptions for the first time in the company's history. They expect international subscribers to grow by 28% in 2017. The firm rates Netflix shares as outperform.

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