Netflix thanks House of Cards as it breaks 100 million subscribers barrier

Netflix shares surged late on Monday (17 July), after the streaming service beat Wall Street's expectations and broke through the 100 million subscribers threshold for the first time.

Shares jumped as much as 10.3% in after hour trading in New York, climbing $16.82 to $178.55 to beat their previous intra-day high of $166.87 recorded last month.

That came as the producer of blockbuster TV series such as House of Cards, The Crown and Better Call Saul announced it added 5.2 million new customers in the second quarter, bringing the overall tally to 104 million subscribers. The figure was comfortably higher than the 3.2 million analysts expected and particularly impressive given the second three months of the year are a traditionally slow period for the industry.

A stronger-than-expected performance worldwide saw the company add 4.14 million subscribers in non-US markets, compared with forecast for a 2.59 million figure.

On the domestic front, Netflix signed up 1.07 million subscribers, exceeding expectations for a figure around the 631,000 mark.

The stronger than expected increase in customers translated into an increase in revenue, which jumped 32% year-on-year to $2.8bn in the second quarter, while profits were 60% higher than 12 months prior at $65.6m.

The surge in subscribers from non-US markets means that for the first time since its launch, Netflix has more customers abroad than in the US and the company expects to add a further 3.5 million international customers in the three months to the end of September.

The company attributed its performance to a strong slate of new releases, including the latest season of House of Cards and the launch of the new series 13 Reasons Why, which focuses on teen suicide.

However, Netflix stressed the importance of creating new content, on which it spends $6bn a year, as it strives to fight off competition from the likes of Amazon and YouTube and traditional broadcasters.

"The largely exclusive nature of each service's content means that we are not direct substitutes for each other, but rather complements," company leaders wrote in a letter to shareholders.

"The shift from linear TV to on-demand viewing is so big and there is so much leisure time, many internet TV services will be successful."