For the first time in the company’s history, Netflix’s (NASDAQ: NFLX) valuation reached $100 billion on Monday.
Thanks to the popularity of new shows including Stranger Things and The Crown, subscribers have hit an all-time high. The group announced in their latest quarterly figures they had reached 8.33 million subscribers in the three months ending in December.
The group had forecast increase in subscribers to 6.3 million. Shares jumped by 8.4 percent in after-hours trading, hitting $227.79.
In a letter to shareholders, the company wrote: “We had a beautiful Q4 [fourth quarter], completing a great year as internet TV expands globally.
“In 2017, we grew streaming revenue 36 percent to over $11 billion, added 24 million new memberships (compared to 19 million in 2016), achieved for the first time a full-year positive international contribution profit, and more than doubled global operating income,”
The streaming giant has gained subscribers from their investment into buying original films and television series and creating its own.
“We believe our big investments in content are paying off. We’re growing faster than we expected,” said chief executive, Reed Hastings.
The groups spent $6 billion on original content in 2017 and are expected to spend an additional $2 billion in 2018, totalling $8 billion in exclusive content.
These large investments led to the group’s long-term debt to grow to $6.5 billion at the end of 2017. Marketing costs increased to $420 million from $312 million.
“The market for entertainment time is vast and can support many successful services,” the company said.
Netflix currently has subscribers in over 190 countries who watch over 140 million hours of TV shows and movies every day.
The group’s exclusive content has proved to be wildly popular, with four of the 15 films already longlisted for the documentary Oscar.