Remember when Netflix was a little-known company trying to chip away at now-dedunct Blockbuster Video by streaming content on the Web?
Those days are no more.
Shares of Netflix surged 10% today after it reported a tremendous gain in subscribers in the fourth quarter of last year -- a whopping 8 million -- and a strong outlook for the first quarter of this year. As a result, its market value soared to $110 billion.
It joins 58 other companies in the the S&P 500 worth at least $100 billion. The company is now worth more than several big Hollywood companies, many of which still supply Netflix with content.
Though Netflix is nowhere near media giants like Disney (worth $166 billion), Comcast (just shy of $200 billion), and AT&T (nearly $230 billion), there's no question the company has grown immensely since its humble beginnings in the late 1990s.
What's more, Wall Street is predicting even larger gains ahead. The highest price target for Netflix is now $303 a share, up another 20% from current levels.
I can only imagine how surreal it must be for the company's founders to see Netflix's market value surpass that of such huge companies as Goldman Sachs and Caterpillar.
Having produced hit shows like "Stranger Things," "Orange Is The New Black," and "The Crown," there's no question that original content is fueling the company's success. It intends to spend up to $8 billion on programming and $2 billion on marketing in 2018.
Those days are no more.
Shares of Netflix surged 10% today after it reported a tremendous gain in subscribers in the fourth quarter of last year -- a whopping 8 million -- and a strong outlook for the first quarter of this year. As a result, its market value soared to $110 billion.
It joins 58 other companies in the the S&P 500 worth at least $100 billion. The company is now worth more than several big Hollywood companies, many of which still supply Netflix with content.
Though Netflix is nowhere near media giants like Disney (worth $166 billion), Comcast (just shy of $200 billion), and AT&T (nearly $230 billion), there's no question the company has grown immensely since its humble beginnings in the late 1990s.
What's more, Wall Street is predicting even larger gains ahead. The highest price target for Netflix is now $303 a share, up another 20% from current levels.
I can only imagine how surreal it must be for the company's founders to see Netflix's market value surpass that of such huge companies as Goldman Sachs and Caterpillar.
Having produced hit shows like "Stranger Things," "Orange Is The New Black," and "The Crown," there's no question that original content is fueling the company's success. It intends to spend up to $8 billion on programming and $2 billion on marketing in 2018.
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