Netflix attracted fewer new subscribers than expected for the second quarter, causing shares of the streaming entertainment giant to tumble as much as 14 percent in after-hours trading Monday.
The Los Gatos, Calif., company said it ended the quarter with 130.1 million subscribers worldwide, falling short of analysts' expectations of 130.8 million subscribers for the period. It said membership growth was 5.2 million for the period _ the same as last year's quarter _ but lower than its 6.2-million forecast.
Domestic subscriber growth was particularly weak, suggesting that Netflix is seeing a dramatic slowdown in the U.S. market. Netflix added 670,000 new U.S. subscribers for the quarter, falling short of the expected 1.2 million that the company had forecast.
Overseas subscriptions continued to be a source of strength for Netflix. The company said it saw 4.5 million net additions, up 8 percent year over year.
Netflix still managed to beat earnings expectations for the period. The company reported earnings of 85 cents per share, exceeding the 79 cents per share estimated by analysts polled by Factset. Revenue for the period was $3.91 billion, which was slightly lower than the $3.94 billion expected by analysts.
The quarter saw little in the way of big new titles. Netflix premiered new seasons of "Marvel's Luke Cage" and "Glow," as well as the streaming releases of a few high-profile Disney movies, including "Coco," "Thor: Ragnarok" and "Star Wars: The Last Jedi."
