Netflix shows weakness as it loses 130K U.S. subscribers

Subscriber growth is still the key metric by which Netflix’s performance is measured, and by that standard, the company just posted some disastrous second-quarter results. The company added 2.7 million paid memberships, dramatically fewer than the 5 million it had forecast. Moreover, the company posted a net subscriber loss (down approximate 130,000) in the U.S. for the first time since 2011. The company pegged the losses and forecast miss on a weaker content slate during the quarter, and promised the third quarter would see a return to growth. With help from the hit new season of “Stranger Things,” Netflix expects to add 7 million paid memberships (800,000 in the U.S. and 6.2 million internationally) in the third quarter. During the company’s earnings call, Netflix CFO Spencer Neumann acknowledged the potential impact that price increases (between $1 and $2 per month) during the quarter may have had on Netflix’s subscriber growth but said that any side effects are worth it since price hikes are revenue accretive.