Netflix earnings: What investors need to know about the streaming giant's Q3 miss

Financial Performance - Netflix reported Q3 EPS of $5.87, missing the estimate of $6.94, and Q3 revenue of $11.51 billion, slightly below the expected $11.52 billion [1][2] - For Q4, Netflix anticipates EPS of $5.45, slightly above the estimate of $5.42, and revenue of $11.96 billion, compared to the street's expectation of $11.9 billion [1][2] - Full-year revenue guidance was set at $45.1 billion, within the range of $44.8 billion to $45.2 billion [2] Engagement Metrics - Netflix experienced a significant surge in viewer engagement, with a reported increase of 20% to 22% in engagement metrics during Q3, driven by popular titles such as "K-pop Demon Hunters" and new seasons of "Squid Game" and "Wednesday" [8][10] - The company emphasized that engagement is a key metric for evaluating its performance, as it directly influences monetization and pricing power [10] Strategic Moves - There are reports suggesting Netflix's interest in acquiring parts of Warner Brothers Discovery, which could enhance its content library and subscriber engagement [3][12] - Historically, Netflix has been cautious with M&A, spending only about $1 to $1.5 billion on acquisitions, favoring a build versus buy strategy [13][15] AI and Content Production - Netflix is leveraging AI for content creation and user personalization, which is expected to be a tailwind for the company [17] - The use of AI could potentially reduce content production costs by 5% to 10%, translating to savings of approximately $1.5 billion to $2 billion over time, given Netflix's annual content budget of around $18 billion [18][19]