Netflix added a flood of new subscribers amid the coronavirus pandemic and also offered clues to a possible successor for founding CEO Reed Hastings, who on Thursday named the company's chief content officer, Ted Sarandos, as co-CEO.
But it was investor disappointment in the outlook for new subscribers that helped drive down the stock 9.3% to US$477.89 in after-hours trading - albeit after a big run-up during global lockdowns that saw it rise from US$298.84 in mid-March to today's close of US$527.39.
Sarandos, who joined Netflix over 20 years ago, will also join the Netflix board of directors. "Ted has been my partner for decades. This change makes formal what was already informal — that Ted and I share the leadership of Netflix," said Hastings in a statement.
The company picked up 10.1 million worldwide subscribers during the April-June period, more than triple what it usually adds in that period.