After Netflix (NFLX) posted first-quarter revenue and earnings that beat🌜 analysts' estimates, company leaders gathered to discuss the streaming giant's subscriber metrics, weak second-quarter outlook, expansion into live sports, and how the company leverages 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:artificial intelligence (AI).

Subscribers Surge, Though Netflix Will Stop Repo𝐆rting Quarterly Subscriber Numbers in 2025

Netflix said its paid memberships rose to 269.6 million in the first quarter, a 16% jump from the year-ago period. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos credited the growth to the streaming service " thrilling our members" with its original series and movies. He highlighted titles including "Griselda," "Avatar: The Last Airbender," and "Love🦄 Is Blind," which the company reported received 66.4 million views, 63.8 million views, and 20 million views, respectively.

However, Netflix warned it would stop reporting quarꦿterly subscriber numbers in 2025, and said that its revenue and operating margin are better metrics of the company’s financial growth, while engagement or watch hours better reflect customer satisfaction.

The streaming company already phased out providing quarterly membership guidance in 2023, citing similar reasons.

Weak Outlook for Second Quarter

However, in its guidance for the second quarter, Netflix projected its income would decline from the first quarter. Net Income is expected to come in at $2.06 billion, down from the $2.33 billion reported in the first quarter, while 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:earnings per share (EPS) is expected to fall to $4.68 from $5.28.

The company credited the weak outlook in part to "price changes in Argentina and the devaluation of the local currency relative to the US dollar."

In a letter to shareholders, Netflix said that second-quarter revenue is forecasted lower than the first quarter "due to typical seasonality," though revenue and earnings increased from the first quarter to to second quarter in 2023.

Expanding Into Live Sports With Profit in Mind

Netflix is in "the very early days of developing our live programming," Co-CEO Greg Peters said, and highlighted that the streaming giant is working on a live fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:WWE "Raw" coming to Netflix in 2025.

When asked how Netflix is looking to scale its live sports offerings, Sarandos said the company is "not anti-sports, but pro-profitable growth," underlining that financials are a critical factor as the streaming company pushes into live content.

Sarandos added that "engagement, revenue, and profit" are at the core of Netflix's programming and that the company pursues opportunities in live sports where it can drive all three. The company "did [that] in our deal with WWE," he noted.

Netflix Could Further Leverage ML and AI in Its Recom꧂mendati♈on System

When asked how Netflix can leverage AI tech, Peters reported that the company has been using 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:machine learning (ML) for almost two decades.

"These technologies are the foundation for our recommendation systems that help us find [the] largest audiences for our titles and deliver the most satisfaction for our members," Peters said.

He indicated that the company is "excited to continue to evolve and improve those systems as new technologies emerge and are developed" and that Netflix could be "well positioned to be in the vanguard of adoption and application of those new approaches."

Netflix shares tumbled 9% Friday to $555.04 following its earnings call after the bell on Thursday. Even with Friday's losses, they've gained about 14% since the start of 2024.

UPDATE—April 19, 2024: This article has been updated to reflect more recent share values and additional information about Netflix's plans to phase out reporting quarterly subscriber numbers.