Netflix shares jump as subscriptions top 100 million worldwide

SAN FRANSISCO: Netflix on Monday reported that its number of subscribers climbed more than expected, topping 100 million worldwide and sending shares in the leading on-demand television service soaring.

Netflix shares leapt more than 10% to $178.48 in after-market trades that followed the release of earnings figures showing the Silicon Valley-based company added 5.2 million subscribers in the recently ended quarter to raise the total to 103.95 million for its streaming service.

Most of the subscriber growth came from outside the US, where Netflix has invested heavily in establishing itself as a global television service.

"That is what you want to see, subscriber growth," said Silicon Valley analyst Rob Enderle. "Their international efforts are paying dividends right now."

Netflix ended the quarter with slightly more than half of the subscriptions coming from outside the US, a first for the company.Profit was up 61% to $66 million, Netflix said. Revenue increased 32% to $2.78 billion from the same quarter last year. 

"We underestimated the popularity of our strong slate of content which led to higher-than-expected acquisition across all major territories," Netflix said in a letter released along with the earnings figures.