Netflix misses big on subscriber growth as forecasts look weak

Netflix had a huge first quarter last year thanks to the pandemic keeping people inside. Now with vaccinations ramping up, Netflix kicked off 2021 with a big subscriber miss.

The streaming service reported Tuesday it now has 208 million subscribers globally, after adding 4 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2021, but missing its own expectations of 210 million.

Netflix’s first quarter profit in 2021 was $1.7 billion, up from $709 million in the year-earlier quarter. Its revenue jumped 24%, to $7.1 billion.

The company’s earnings were good, but all eyes were on the big subscriber miss for the company as well as a weak forecast for subscriber growth for the next quarter.

The company’s stock dropped as much as 10% in after-hours trading following the company’s earnings.

This is a developing story.