Netflix Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Netflix (NAS: NFLX) reported earnings on April 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Netflix met expectations on revenues and exceeded expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew significantly and GAAP earnings per share dropped to a loss.


Margins contracted across the board.

Revenue details
Netflix reported revenue of $869.8 million. The 27 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated net sales of $866.6 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 21% higher than the prior-year quarter's $718.6 million.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at -$0.08. The 23 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated -$0.26 per share. GAAP EPS were -$0.08 for Q1 versus $1.11 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 28.3%, 1,070 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -0.2%, 1,440 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -0.5%, 890 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $890.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.18.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $3.63 billion. The average EPS estimate is -$0.31.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 7,690 members out of 9,478 rating the stock outperform, and 1,788 members rating it underperform. Among 2,704 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 2,426 give Netflix a green thumbs-up, and 278 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Netflix is hold, with an average price target of $94.58.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Netflix. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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