Alec Hogg: Netflix delivers, price +12%

Here's some welcome news for followers of the BizNews Share portfolio ahead of 2021's first update on Tuesday. Yesterday the company reported superb 4th quarter results, taking the shares from $502 to $565 (+12%). Netflix, in which 7% of the BizNews portfolio is held, was purchased in September 2019 at $263.

Also read: Alec Hogg: Fastest fingers first for this 12J

The company added 8.5m new subscribers during the three months to end December, 90% from outside the USA. That took its total paying base to above 200m accounts, the milestone marked by a dispatch of champagne and confetti to each staff member. Subscribers grew 37m in 2020, most of any year.

What really got investors excited, though, was news from CEO Reed Hastings that for the first time, the company now generates more cash than it needs, reaching this watershed a year ahead of its plan. Netflix is considering using excess cash on share buybacks – and no longer needs to borrow to grow.

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