Netflix Earnings Top Expectations; Subs Top 75 Mln.

(RTTNews) - Online movie rental service Netflix (NFLX) announced earnings for the fourth quarter that fell from last year, the bottom line still came in well above analysts' expectations.

Revenue and subscriber numbers were both up sharply compared to last year. The company said it currently had more than 75 million subscribers and predicted nearly 81 million subscribers by the end of the current quarter.

Netflix reported net income of $43 million, or $0.10 per share. This was down from $83 million, or $0.19 per share, in the same period last year.

Wall Street analysts had expected the company to earn $0.02 per share, according to a survey conducted by Thomson Reuters.

Consolidated revenue in the fourth quarter was $1.82 billion compared to $1.48 billion in the same period last year. Analysts had projected that the company's top line would rise to $1.83 billion.

Looking ahead, the company projected net income of $11 million, or $0.03 per share, for the first quarter.

Netflix said it had 74.76 million subscribers at the end of the fourth quarter, with the number edging above 75 million just after the quarter closed. This compared to 57.39 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The company projected 80.86 million subscribers by the end of the fourth quarter.