Blogs -Netflix Stock Stronger Than It Seems Following Q2 Earnings

Netflix Stock Stronger Than It Seems Following Q2 Earnings


July 28, 2022

author

Beth Kindig

Lead Tech Analyst

This article was originally published on Forbes on Jul 22, 2022,01:44pm EDT

Netflix is trading at a 10-year historic low valuation, which means this is an opportune time to discuss the pros and cons of this stock should there be upside potential.

The lagging discussion on Netflix is that there was a subscriber decline in Q1 of 200,000, excluding Russia and a subscriber decline of 970,000 in Q2. While critics believe this is due to saturation, it’s much more likely the decline is coming from a pull forward due to Covid as all media stocks – both streaming and social media – demonstrated outsized audience growth through Q2 2021. Therefore, Netflix is lapping some tough quarters for audience growth comps.

Netflix management was clear that this quarter was “less bad” as they hinted the company is not exactly celebrating the results. The company technically returns to growth next quarter for subscribers with a guide of 1 million, yet this is a marked decline from the 4.4 million in the year ago quarter. As discussed, due to the overall impact across many media stocks from shelter-in-place, it would be hasty to believe there’s something inherently wrong with an individual company when the entire media industry was affected. It’s better to hold those conclusions until H2 2022 through H1 2023 after giving it a full year after tough Covid comps have cleared. Ultimately, media is very seasonal, and we should have a nice glimpse as to which companies emerge stronger by Q4 2022, as this is the strongest quarter seasonally.

With that said, there is already evidence that Netflix is taking more market share than its peers. In fact, Nielsen is raising Netflix’s market share for engagement to 7.7% from 6.6%, which puts Netflix in the lead over any other competing subscription service. This is due to high-quality content such as Stranger Things 4, which reported 1.3 billion hours streamed.

Netflix market share tweet by Beth Kindig

Sign up for I/O Fund's free newsletter with gains of up to 403% - Click here

Advertisers are likely to pay a high premium for Netflix’s Hollywood-level content. It’s not only the 100 million people sharing passwords that illustrates what the uptake could be for a lower-priced tier, it’s also the high level of engagement the company’s content garners that could make for a nice equation for industry-leading ARPU due to demand from exclusive advertisers coupled with the supply, or premium content, that Netflix offers.

Due to FX headwinds, Netflix missed on revenue in the most recent quarter at 9% revenue growth compared to 9.7% expected. However, on a constant currency basis, revenue growth was 13%. The same was true for Netflix’s guide, it was a miss due to FX headwind at 4.7% for the upcoming Q3 quarter, yet on a constant currency basis, it is a 12% guide on revenue and a beat in that regard.

Above: Portfolio Manager of I/O Fund, Knox Ridley, discusses Netflix earnings results.

Above: Portfolio Manager of I/O Fund, Knox Ridley, discusses Netflix earnings results.

Not surprisingly, the operating margin was also affected by the strong dollar at 20% in the current quarter and 16% for Q3. The strong dollar led to a slightly better EPS as Netflix saw a $305 million unrealized gain from F/X remeasurement on Euro debt.

The most important line item for Netflix is the company’s cash flow. Looking back, this has been troublesome for Netflix as the company lost $3.3 billion in cash in 2019 as it built up its original content pipeline. However, the company is on an entirely new trajectory with $1 billion in free cash flow expected this year and “substantial” free cash flow in 2023, per Netflix management.

The new and improved trajectory in free cash flow won’t change the company’s debt levels anytime soon. Netflix is firmly setting expectations for $10 to $15 billion in debt into the foreseeable future. This is necessary to continue to hold its place as the top media company in terms of revenue and engagement. Gross debt stands at $14.3 billion, when accounting for $5.8 billion in cash, net debt is at $8.5 billion. The company has been able to improve its cash content spend-to-content amortization ratio from 1.6X to 1.4X in 2021 and an expected 1.2-1.3X in 2022.

Chart showing Cash Content Spend-to-Content Amortization Ratio

NETFLIX’S Q2 2022 INVESTOR LETTER

Forward-Looking Catalysts:

Netflix has a few new paths to monetization and to re-accelerate subscriber growth. The company is rolling out a new password-sharing plan and is also now partnered with Microsoft on ads to roll out in 2023. More time than not, cross-selling results in higher revenue where someone who would normally churn can now be monetized through ads. Likewise, viewers who can try out Netflix may decide to upgrade to remove ads. Ultimately, the move towards ads also helps Netflix to be more recession-proof in the event households decide to cut costs.

Risks:

We do not see the current soft subscriber numbers as a sign of saturation. Netflix has risen in market share over the past year. Instead, soft subscriber numbers are a result of the pull forward nearly all media companies experienced from Covid. We fully expect Netflix will return to normal subscriber growth due to the catalysts listed above.

Instead, the primary risk for Netflix is its debt in a rising rate environment. This may depress the company’s valuation more than its ad-tech peers who have strong cash flow and little to no debt during tougher macro conditions. Netflix cannot temper this debt if it intends to compete against other subscription streaming services and also the many broadcast networks that have migrated to streaming.

There is also execution risk with a pivot from subscription-only to also including the ad tier. We view the Netflix management team as perhaps the most capable in the industry of pulling off this pivot as they have consistently broken ground in areas much more challenging than introducing ads. In addition to this, CTV ads can monetize at $40 ARPU and we believe Netflix content will set a new record on ARPU. With that said, even if the execution risk is lower than it would be with other management teams, Netflix is likely to fetch a higher valuation after its proven the ad tier will be successful – ETA of H2 2023.

Sign up for I/O Fund's free newsletter with gains of up to 403% - Click here

What to Watch: Price Action for Netflix Stock

The big picture question to ask is – has NFLX put in THE bottom? There are 3 scenarios that could unfold from the current price range, that would help us manage risk around this question:

Chart showing price action of Netflix Inc

I/O FUND

Red: If NFLX breaks below $185, the odds favor one more low, which would be targeting the $147-$115 region. If this happens, it greatly reduces the odds that NFLX will see new highs in the next growth cycle.

Orange: The current swing up breaks above $250. If this happens, the odds favor a push into the $340-$405 region. If this scenario is playing out, we would see the uptrend stall in this region in a bear market rally. The same lower price targets would hold in this scenario.

Green: If any renewed uptrend can break above $405, the odds will shift towards a move to all-time highs.

Netflix bottomed in May while the rest of the market went on to make a new low. More times than not, stocks that bottom first, tend to lead into the next uptrend. This is a show of strength worth monitoring.

We only have 3 waves down from the 2021 high. This may not seem significant, but it is. If this 3-wave move down turns into 5 waves down (red scenario), the odds that we push deep into the orange range are low before the next leg down.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) has reclaimed a significant level. Note the blue arrow on the RSI around 57. This was the spot where price topped just before the waterfall moment happened in this bear market. The fact that the recent push higher has reclaimed this level is a show of strength and an early sign that green/orange is likely playing out.

Conclusion: The odds favor a push into the $340-$405 region. As long as the next dip holds $185, the more aggressive play would be to buy into that dip. A safer play would be to wait for the breakout above $250.

Knox Ridley, Portfolio Manager at the I/O Fund, contributed to this article.

Gains of up to 403% from our Free Newsletter.

Here are sample stock gains from the I/O Fund’s newsletter --- produced weekly and all for free!

+344% on Nvidia

+403% on Bitcoin

+218% on Roku

*as of March 15, 2022

Our newsletter provides an edge in the world’s most valuable industry – technology. Due to the enormous gains from this particular industry, we think it’s essential that every stock investor have a credible source who specializes in tech. Subscribe for Free Weekly Analysis on the Best Tech Stocks.

If you are a more serious investor, we have a premium service that offers lower entries and real-time trade alerts. Sample returns on the premium site include 324% on Zoom, 601% on Nvidia, 445% on Bitcoin, and 4-digits on an alt-coin. The I/O Fund is audited annually to prove it’s one of the best performing Funds on the market with returns that beat Wall Street funds. 

beth

More To Explore

Newsletter

Nvidia Was Up 235% In 2023, Don't Expect It To Continue

Nvidia Was Up 235% In 2023, Don’t Expect It To Continue

We’ve had unwavering conviction in Nvidia’s AI story since November of 2018. In fact, it was our leading position going into 2023 and our AI allocation of 45% exceeded Stanley Druckenmiller at 29%, me

September 26, 2023
Stocks, Oil and the Dollar

Stocks, Oil and the Dollar

The two most important markets that are driving the S&P 500 is oil and the US dollar. Both are suggesting a continuation of the equity rally for another leg higher, but then the also suggest a return

September 15, 2023
Major Top or One More High

Major Top or One More High

September is widely known to be the worst month for tech as it’s the only month to see negative average returns for the past decade for the Nasdaq 100. Meanwhile, the index is entering September up 42

September 08, 2023
Tesla's Margins: How Low Will They Go?

Tesla’s Margins: How Low Will They Go?

Tesla stock has rallied through most of 2023 during a time when consensus was estimating sales to grow +23% y/y but earnings to decline 15%. The main driver behind the decline in earnings estimates is

August 31, 2023
https://images.prismic.io/bethtechnology/ae168e3d-00a8-49de-97c4-52cde7c93105_NVIDIA%2Baerial%2BVoyager%2Band%2BEndeavor_fdde820f-83ce-4f80-8977-3c706c0bb2ea-prv.jpg?auto=compress,format

Nvidia Stock: How We Plan To Position For Q2 Earnings

Nvidia guided fiscal Q2 at $11 billion, which is 53% higher than analyst expectations of $7.2 billion. The stock was up 25% after hours, adding $200 billion to its market cap in the matter of a day.

August 29, 2023
Alphabet Stock: Search Giant Is Just Getting Started

Alphabet Stock: Search Giant Is Just Getting Started

Going into this year, we were positioned for bottom-line focused investment themes that we felt would be able to deliver earnings growth due to secular demand for its products, and in some cases, be a

August 16, 2023
This Next AI Trend Could be Worth Trillions

This Next AI Trend Could be Worth Trillions

In the clip below, Beth Kindig discusses how AI will drive stock market caps well into the trillions of dollars.

August 04, 2023
Nasdaq Stock Exchange Building

NASDAQ REBALANCE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

On June 30th, the NASDAQ posted the strongest first six months in the index’s history, dating back to 1971. The 6-month returns of 30.5% in 2023 easily beats the prior record of 25.2% in 2019. The maj

August 01, 2023
Tesla Q2 Earnings - It's About Margins

Tesla Q2 Earnings – It’s About Margins

After the strong rally, it appears the market is taking profits on commentary around the outlook for margins. It’s not only that they were lower quarter-over-quarter (QoQ), but also Tesla provided zer

July 25, 2023
https://images.prismic.io/bethtechnology/b995f3ce-f5e2-42fa-b74d-47866787046a_SEMICONDUCTOR+STOCKS+Q2+SECTOR+OVERVIEW.jpg?auto=compress,format

Semiconductor Stocks: Q2 Sector Overview

Semiconductors are the common denominator across the burgeoning technology trends of the next decade. Artificial Intelligence, 5G, high-performance computing, Internet-of-Things, gaming, electric vehi

July 18, 2023
newsletter

Sign up for Analysis on
the Best Tech Stocks

https://bethtechnology.cdn.prismic.io/bethtechnology/e0a8f1ff-95b9-432c-a819-369b491ce051_Logo_Final_Transparent_IOFUND.svg
The I/O Fund specializes in tech growth stocks and offers in-depth research for Premium Members. Investors get access to a transparent portfolio of 30 positions, a private forum, webinars, and real-time trade notifications. Sign up for Premium.

We are on social networks


Copyright © 2010 - 2023
Get Free Weekly Analysis on the Best Tech Stocks