“Thank God we’re done with shrinking quarters,” co-CEO Reed Hastings said during Netflix’s earnings call on Tuesday.
The return to growth signals Netflix could be holding its own against Disney Plus, Apple TV, HBO Max, and other rivals. Nonetheless, questions remain about how successful Netflix’s launch of an ad-supported content tier will be and whether it will manage to get rid of password sharing as planned.
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman built a billion-dollar stake in Netflix earlier this year, only to dump it three months later at a $400 million loss. Also, he lost confidence in his estimates of the company’s future cash flows with advertising in the mix.
Netflix shares shed 60% for the year as of Tuesday’s close, representing a roughly $160 billion decline in market value.
