Netflix Stock Jumps to the Top of the S&P 500 After Earnings. Here's Why

Netflix (NFLX) stock is one of the best S&P 500 stocks Friday after the streaming giant beat top- and bottom-line expectations for its third quarter and issued a strong outlook for its fourth quarter.

In the three months ended September 30, Netflix said its revenue increased 15% year over year to $9.83 billion, driven by a 14% rise in global streaming paid memberships to 282.72 million. Its earnings per share (EPS) were up 45% from the year-ago period to $5.40. 

The results topped analysts' expectations. Wall Street was anticipating revenue of $9.77 billion, paid memberships of 282.15 million and earnings of $5.12 per share, according to CNBC.

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For the fourth quarter, Netflix said it anticipates revenue growth of 15% and paid net additions to be higher than in the third quarter. Given this outlook, Netflix is on pace to grow revenue by 15% for the full year, which is the high-end of its previous guidance for revenue growth of 14% to 15%.

"We're pleased that we've reaccelerated our growth and, as we head into 2025, we expect to deliver solid revenue and profit growth by both improving our core series and film offering while investing in new growth initiatives like ads and gaming," NFLX said.

For 2025, the company anticipates revenue in the range of $43 billion to $44 billion, representing year-over-year growth of 11% to 13% from its 2024 revenue forecast of $38.9 billion. Netflix said it expects this growth "to be driven by a healthy increase in paid memberships," as well as an expansion to its average revenue per membership.

Is Netflix stock a buy, sell or hold?

Netflix has outperformed the broader market so far in 2024, up 55% vs the S&P 500's 23% gain. Unsurprisingly, Wall Street is bullish on the blue chip stock. 

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, the consensus recommendation among the 48 analysts covering the Magnificent 7 stock is a Buy. However, the average analyst target price of $745.21 sits at a slight discount to the current share price. It's likely, though, that analysts will increase their price targets on NFLX following the company's strong earnings report.

Financial services firm Needham already hiked its price target on NFLX, raising it to $800 from $700 after earnings while maintaining its Buy rating.

Needham analyst Laura Martin pointed to Netflix's strong Q3 subscriber adds as well as its solid full-year revenue forecast and higher 2024 free cash flow guidance of $6 billion to $6.5 billion as things she liked in the print. These are all catalysts that can boost NFLX stock's share price down the road, she adds.

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