Netflix shares jump as beats subscribers beat targets

Netflix Inc crushed Wall Street forecasts by adding 5.2 million new streaming customers in the second quarter and predicted continued momentum as foreign subscriptions topped those in the United States.

The news saw a lifting of its stock by 10.4%.

Shares of the streaming-television pioneer jumped US$16.82 to US$178.55 in after-hours trading, beating their all-time intraday high of US$166.87 on 8 June.

Netflix expects foreign growth to bring its first full-year profit for overseas markets in 2017, the company said in a letter to shareholders.

At the end of June, Netflix for the first time recorded more subscribers abroad than in the United States - 52.03 million vs 51.92 million.

A strong slate of TV series, such as 13 Reasons Why and the latest season of House of Cards, brought in more customers than Netflix had predicted for the second quarter, typically its slowest season of the year.

Wall Street had expected 3.2 million new customers worldwide. Netflix added 4.14 million monthly subscribers in non-U.S. markets.

In the United States, it signed up 1.07 million subscribers, beating analysts' average estimate of 631,000.