Netflix added a net 5.30 million new streaming subscribers in the third quarter, including 4.45 million outside the US. This gives the company a total 109.2 million customers, of which around half (56.5 million) at its international operations. Netflix's sales rose 30 percent to USD 2.98 billion in the quarter, giving an ARPU up 7.2 percent to USD 9.85.
The growth was better than the company's guidance, which forecast 108.4 million subscribers at the end of September. For the fourth quarter, Netflix expects to grow to 115.6 million customers.
The contribution profit increased 43 percent from a year ago to USD 679 million, and adjusted EBITDA was up 66 percent to USD 273 million. Operating profit almost doubled to USD 208 million, and the net result jumped to USD 130 million from USD 52 million a year earlier.
Netflix's cash position fell slightly during the quarter, by USD 172 million to USD 1.75 billion. This is the smallest decline since Q2 2015. The company spent a record USD 2.35 billion on content in the third quarter and said it expects total content spending to rise to USD 8 billion next year. The aim is to make 50 percent of content in its library its own original content.
