Netflix (NFLX) Surpasses HBO In U.S., Wall Street Expectations In Q3

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) announced third-quarter earnings on Monday, beating expectations on revenue with $1.11 billion and earnings per share of $0.52. Netflix added 1.3 million new U.S. subscribers, beating out rival HBO for total number of paid subscribers in the U.S.

Despite initial resistance and public backlash to CEO Reed Hasting’s 2011 plan to separate Netflix’s streaming service from its DVD-by-mail business, the company has remained successful and its stock reached new highs on today’s quarterly earnings report. Netflix has nearly 30 million paid subscribers, up from fewer than 24 million in the same period last year, compared to less than 29 million for HBO.

Netflix is increasing revenue on a push for international subscribers, with 8 million outside the U.S. who pay for the service, up from 3.7 million for the year-earlier period. HBO Inc., a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) has approximately 114 million HBO/Cinemax subscribers worldwide, compared to 40 million total for Netflix.

Netflix says that its newest original show, “Orange is the New Black,” is the company’s “most watched series ever,” but refuses to release numbers on how many subscribers see the show. Netflix won three Emmy awards for “House of Cards” last month, starring Kevin Spacey in his first role in a television series.

Netflix recently struck deals to stream original content from Sony Pictures Television (NYSE:SNE), in addition to airing exclusive content from Disney’s (NYSE:DIS) Marvel Entertainment, which owns superhero properties like “Spider-Man” and “The Avengers.”

The streaming service is also reportedly working on deals with cable providers to appear on consumer set-top boxes. Netflix faces competition in television and film streaming from Hulu and Amazon Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN).

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