Netflix Hit by Shareholder Lawsuit Over Missed Subscriber Growth Estimates

Netflix has been hit with a shareholder lawsuit in a US court docket in California accusing the streaming leisure firm of deceptive the market about its capacity to maintain including subscribers in latest months.

The lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court docket on Tuesday seeks damages for declines in Netflix’s share worth this yr after the corporate missed its subscriber development estimates.

Filed by a Texas-based funding belief, the lawsuit accused Los Gatos, California-based Netflix and its high executives of failing to reveal that its development was slowing amid elevated competitors and that it was shedding subscribers on a web foundation.

Netflix shares dropped 20 p.c in January after it disclosed weak subscriber development. Netflix shares then plunged greater than 35 p.c on April 20 to shut at $226.19 (roughly Rs. 17,200) after it mentioned it misplaced 200,000 subscribers in its first quarter, falling nicely wanting its forecast of including 2.5 million subscribers. Its shares have been buying and selling at $199.87 (roughly Rs. 15,246) at noon on Wednesday.

The firm attributed the quarterly decline to inflation, competitors from different streaming providers and its suspension of service in Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which value Netflix 700,000 members.

A Netflix spokesperson didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

The lawsuit names Netflix co-chief executives Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos and Chief Financial Officer Spencer Neumann. It seeks damages for traders who traded Netflix shares between October 19, 2021 and April 19, 2022.

The case is Pirani v. Netflix et al., No. 22-cv-02672, US District Court, Northern District of California.

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