Video streaming service Netflix has hooked 7 million new c from July to September. The record number of additions in the third quarter brought Netflix’s customer base to 137 million worldwide, confirming its rank as by far the world’s biggest online subscription video service.
The company’s net income rose to $402.8 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up from $129.6 million a year earlier. Total revenue rose to $4 billion from $2.98 billion a year earlier.
The increase in subscribers marked a sharp turnaround from three months ago when investors sent Netflix shares tumbling 14% after it missed Wall Street’s subscriber growth targets.
“The question at the end of Q2 was whether that miss was an aberration or signs of a longer-term slowdown in the business,” said Forrester Research analyst Jim Nail. “The answer: an aberration, likely the results of a somewhat low volume of new content last quarter.”
The company exceeded forecasts in both U.S. and international markets. Netflix said it signed up roughly 1.1 million subscribers in the United States, above analysts’ estimate of 674,000, according to Refinitiv. Its international business added nearly 5.9 million subscribers, compared with the average analyst estimate of 4.5 million.