Netflix gained 9.3 million subscribers this year as it adjusts streaming strategy

Netflix, the dominant player in streaming, says it grew sales, profits and added more than 9 million subscribers as it revealed first-quarter results on Thursday.

Netflix, the dominant player in streaming, says it grew sales, profits and added more than 9 million subscribers as it revealed first-quarter results on Thursday. Last year, Netflix made a particularly risky bet by pushing users who share passwords to create their own accounts — but it has paid off. In total, Netflix now has 269.6 million subscribers, a record high. “It added more subscribers than many analysts, myself included, expected,” said eMarketer senior analyst Ross Benes. “This signals that password sharing was even more common than previously thought as Netflix keeps converting freeloader viewers into paid users.” While the subscriber additions topped Wall Street’s estimates, the company still reported a drop in growth from its blowout fourth-quarter report, when Netflix added 13 million subscribers. Netflix announced Thursday that it plans to stop sharing its quarterly subscriber numbers in 2025. The company also reported $9.37 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $5.28 for the first quarter, beating Wall Street’s estimates, according to FactSet. However, the stock, which has been a darling of Wall Street this year, fell in after-hours trading.