Was Wall Street insufficiently enthusiastic about Netflix yesterday when investors bid the stock price up 42.2%? Some people apparently think so: The stock is up an additional 14.4% to $168.00, at mid-day. If the price holds, then it will be Netflix’s best trading day since September 15, 2011. That was the middle of the period when the stock was collapsing from its near $300 peak following Netflix’s ill-considered decision to split the streaming and DVD rental services, dramatically increasing prices for consumers who wanted to continue to receive both. Shares hit bottom this past September when they traded for $53.80. Billionaire Carl Icahn jumped in shortly afterward, buying nearly 10% of Netflix for an average of $58.40 a share. The Street’s view about Netflix’s prospects improved Wednesday night when it reported surprisingly strong year-end results.


Their long term plan is based on making succesful tv series. Does anyone really believe they will become HBO? They are burning cash and their streaming library isnt going to get bigger. Yes it is a useful service for parents but this stock pop is totally irrational
Netflix stock rockets for no good reason, Apple stock tanks. One company pisses off it’s customers by attempting to split it’s services and effectively doubling it’s price. The other company makes consistantly high quality products that people will wait in line overnight to be the first owners.
I don’t see it. Please explain.
1. Netflix’s price increase is ancient history. They’re still a great value and obviously consumers know this. The whole “we’re going to split the company” debacle was just an embarrassing youtube video announcement that passed in a couple days. No impact on their services, pricing, library or anything. None.
2. Netflix’s many competitors can’t touch them. Hulu has commercials and a pathetic film library. Amazon Prime doesn’t offer enough free content, most of the good stuff is for sale. Itunes, Facebook and whatever other service pops up this week isn’t there yet.
3. Apple’s products are not getting better, they’re just getting “newer.” Tim Cook is not an innovator like Jobs. Everyone knows this.
4. Apple’s many competitors are getting stronger and stronger.
Is that enough explanation for you?
Netflix’s price bungle was a PR debacle and they should have known better. Any Marketing 101 textbook will tell you that consumers don’t perceive value in the abstract but rather in comparison with something. It’s idiotic to allow that “something” to be your own, better, former price when you have control over both elements that are being compared.
However, once consumers forgot about that comparison, and started using the relevant comparison – how does Netflix compare with existing competitors – the picture became much rosier. $20/month for two DVDs at a time and streaming gives me pretty much everything I’d care to watch – TV, movies, documentaries – and beats the hell out of cable’s $80/month and rising, with the ongoing insane greed of sports driving up the price with no end in sight.
So I cut the cord and switched to Netflix + Roku. The fact that I could have gotten an even better deal in the past does not change the fact that Netflix is currently the best deal, still.
My Netflix subscription costs $20/month. My iPad and MacBook Air cost a whooole hell of a lot more than that. If I can afford Apple products, Netflix is chump change.
But Apple vs Netflix is Apples vs Oranges (haha). The relevant comparison is Netflix vs hulu, iTunes, Amazon, etc. Which is the better deal? If your Platonic ideal is piracy – and that is the standard for many people who have pirated movies and TV shows, but are getting a bit more mature and want to move to a more convenient and legal system – then whoever is the closest to “everything I want, right when I want it, for a dirt cheap price” is the winner. And Netflix is still The Next Best Thing to Piracy. As long as they keep that position, they will win.
Apple is still worth 2.5x as much as Netflix. The problem right now is Netflix looks like the future, where as Apple is sustaining quality but no longer innovating.
apple is really difficult to use with non apple devices try hooking your ipad to your tv to watch things it doesn’t fully work. Ans to use apple you need to spend lots of money via there always something new therefor your device is always outdated strategy