Netflix added 8.8 million subscribers in the third quarter, more than three times its tally from a year ago, as its password crackdown and ongoing global expansion continued to drive growth.
The earnings results came as the streaming giant said it would raise the price of its premium plan, while also bringing back its basic tier with its own price hike. Despite the shifting landscape of streaming services, Netflix remains the top subscription player by a wide margin. But even it’s beginning to feel the financial pressure hitting all services, as illustrated by the price shift.
A majority of its growth came from the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions, which saw nearly 4 million new additions. United State and Canada contributed to 1.8 million new subscribers.
In total, Netflix said it has 247.2 million subscribers around the world.
The company continued to enjoy growth from its move to crack down on password sharing, forcing users to sign up for their own account, or for family members to upgrade to account for more households. The result has been a financial boon to Netflix, which hasn’t had to raise its prices in more than a year. Its success is spurring other companies, like Disney, to explore its own password-sharing crackdown.
The quarter saw the return of hit shows like The Witcher, Sex Education and The Lincoln Lawyer, as well as the debut of anime adaptation One Piece and limited series DEPP V HEARD. Suits, which is also on Peacock, continues to be a streaming sensation.
The company also ended its DVD.com division at the end of the third quarter, shuttering the DVD shipping business that first put Netflix on the map.
In total, Netflix posted third quarter earnings of $1.68 billion, or $3.73 a share share, compared with a year-ago profit of $1.4 billion, or $3.10 a share. Revenue also rose 7.8% to $8.54 billion.
Wall Street had expected Netflix to earn $3.49 a share and generate revenue of $8.54 billion, according to data compiled by Yahoo Finance.
The company expects fourth-quarter earnings of $956 million on revenue of $8.7 billion.