Netflix hits new high with over 260 million subscribers driven by Polish series '1670'

The growth streak of Netflix adds another milestone, with reported gains of 13.1 million new subscribers in the last quarter. Now the number of paid subscribers stands at 260.8 million, breaking past records. Analysts had expected Netflix to close the fourth quarter with a subscriber base of 256 million. As per the regional distribution of subscribers, Europe leads with 88.8 million, followed by the US with 80.1 million.

"Netflix's good results are likely to give a positive push to the major American indexes. Supporting factors for equity valuations include the solid US economic growth, promising returns, and the prospect of lower interest rates from the Federal Reserve," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote.

Sophie Lund-Yates, Chief Equity Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, commented on the critical role of exclusive content, stating, "Exclusive content tends to have a higher retention rate, which gives a competitive edge in the streaming platform market."

The series "1670" strongly echoes this sentiment, proving popular not only in Poland, but also in Germany, the UK, and the US, according to Wirtualne Media.

High-cap companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms are also enjoying a surge, about 1 percent in pre-session trading, due to a drop in the yield of US government bonds. Furthermore, US chip manufacturers like Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, and Marvell Technology are registering a positive trend, ranging from 1 percent to 2.5 percent ahead of the session. This is spurred by the better than expected fourth-quarter results from European chipmaker ASML Holding.