Original programming is the key to Netflix’s continued success

Netflix’s first quarterly earnings report of the year was impressive, but not surprising. We’ve come to expect tons of growth from Netflix. No, what was really interesting was how the company intends to deal with the growing competition. Although Netflix is still the undisputed leader among video streaming services, competitors like Amazon Instant Video and Hulu are growing rapidly, not to mention HBO’s entrance into the solo streaming market. 

Netflix, that veritable giant among video streaming services, released its first quarterly earnings report of this fiscal year on Wednesday. The takeaway? Not the numbers so much, but the company’s plans to address the many new market entrants encroaching on its market territory. The financials were a mixed bag, on paper. Netflix posted first-quarter profits of $23 million, short of analysts’ expectations and a decline from the $53 million it earned for the same period last year. But outspoken CEO Reed Hastings was quick to blame a foreign exchange loss, pointing to a growth in revenue from $1.27 to $1.57 billion, and analysts largely agreed with that assertion. The news enough to excite investors, as Netflix shot up 13 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday and, at time of publication, the stock was at a record high of $569 per share. That’s a rise of over $100 per share in just the last week.