Netflix Quarterly Results Top Estimates, But Shares Plunge

Netflix delivered quarterly results Monday thatbeat Wall Street's expectations, but its shares fell sharply in after-hours trading.

Netflix
AP
Netflix

After the earnings announcement, the company's sharesfell 13 percent in extended trading. (Click here for latest quote.)

The company posted a first-quarter loss excluding items of 8 cents per share,down from a profit of $1.11 in the year-earlier period.

Revenue was $870 million, a 21-percent increase from $719 million a year ago.

Analysts had expected the company to report a loss excluding items of 27 cents a share on $866 million in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.

Netflix said it suffered its first quarterly loss in seven years as the video subscription service dealt with rising licensing fees and the bill for an international expansion.

The company said its subscriber growth accelerated during the first three months of the year. Last summer, U.S. customer backlash triggered by sharp price increases led many subscribers to cancel their subscriptions.

The company ended March with 26.5 million Internet video subscribers.