iWorld
Netflix adds 8.8 million paid subs in Q4; stock falls as spending weighs on profits
MUMBAI: Netflix in its Q4 earnings beat Wall Street expectation in terms of international subscriber growth but the same in its domestic market remains tepid. For the quarter, the online video platform reported 1.5 million domestic subscriber addition and 7.3 million new subscribers internationally.
Netflix posted mixed result in terms of revenue also. The company beat Wall Street estimates on earnings per share (EPS) but fell a bit short on the total revenue. It posted EPS of 30 cents versus 24 cents consensus estimate. On the other hand, against Wall Street's estimation of 4.21 billion revenue, the online video player reported $4.187 billion in revenue.
As a result, Netflix stock fell 4.31 per cent thanks to slower domestic subscriber addition and revenue growth. The most closely watched stock gave the hope of bigger boom among investors. Notably, the copman beat its own projection in terms of subscriber addition. On the back of new 8.8 million global paid memberships in Q4, the subscriber addition went up to 29 million paid subscribers for the full year of 2018. It is clearly 33 per cent higher if compared to 22 million paid subscribers addition in 2017.
“We added a record 8.8 million paid memberships (1.5 million in the US and 7.3 million internationally), higher than our beginning-of-quarter expectation for 7.6 million paid net adds and up 33 per cent year over year. For the full year, paid net adds grew 33 per cent to 29 million versus the 22 million we added in 2017,” the company commented in a letter to shareholders.
Few days ago, Netflix announced its increase in US prices for the first time since 2017. The hike in subscription rate will be applied also to subscribers in Latin American and the Caribbean, where Netflix bills in US dollars. The most popular subscription plan will see the largest hike costing $13 a month, up from $11. Wall Street showed high enthusiasm by sending the stock shooting skyward after the announcement.
“We change pricing from time to time as we continue investing in great entertainment and improving the overall Netflix experience. We want to ensure that Netflix is a good value for the money and that our entry price is affordable. We just increased our US prices for new members, as we did in Q4 in Canada and Argentina, and in Japan in Q3. The new pricing in the US will be phased in for existing members over Q1 and Q2, which we anticipate will lift ASP,” the company added in the letter.
Apart from its well-known and critically acclaimed shows, Netflix is expanding its film market also. As claimed by the company, its films drew bigger attention in the last quarter. Netflix has also mentioned the relevance of international productions again as good ones enjoy viewership both inside and outside the country. “We’re making significant investments in productions all over the world because we have seen that great stories transcend borders,” the OTT platform commented.
For the first quarter of 2019, Netflix forecasts global paid net additions of 8.9 million, with 1.6 million in the US and 7.3 million internationally. The revenue forecast for Q1 19 represents 21 per cent year over year growth.
Next year is going to be a tough one for Netflix as its rivals like Disney, AT&T, NBC Universal, Apple are gearing up for their own online services. Given the strength of Disney’s scale, AT&T’s reach, anyone can assume the intensity of the challenge.
“There are thousands of competitors in this highly-fragmented market vying to entertain consumers and low barriers to entry for those with great experiences. Our growth is based on how good our experience is, compared to all the other screen time experiences from which consumers choose. Our focus is not on Disney+, Amazon or others, but on how we can improve our experience for our members,” Netflix said.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
