Netflix’s shares crossed the $300 mark for the first time on Friday to reach a new record high.
The video streaming video giant’s stock closed at $301.05, up 3.67%.
Netflix’s market value of $130.6 billion puts it within reach of other entertainment and media powerhouses like Disney (market cap $154.7 billion) and Comcast (market cap $169.5 billion), as Hollywood business publication Varietynoted.
Netflix shares have skyrocketed 1,000% over the past five years, propelled by the huge growth of its video streaming service. In Mar. 2013, Netflix share’s were trading at around $26.
In the most recent quarter, Netflix(NFLX) reported solid earnings that included adding 8.3 million subscribers, far higher than the 6.3 million that Wall Street had expected. Netflix has over 117 million total streaming subscribers, as of the end of Dec. 2017.
One of the ways Netflix has grown its subscriber base is by creating original programming that’s been a hit with viewers. As Coins2Day’s Tom Huddleston noted in January, two of Netflix’s most popular original shows—the science fiction series Stranger Things and the historical drama The Crown—premiered in the company’s fourth quarter, which could have prompted more subscribers to sign up.
Netflix plans to spend $8 billion in 2018 on original programming, including movies, teen dramas, and even anime. The company is hoping to create enough compelling content to keep viewers glued to watching shows on its service—and undercut the potential of broadcasting networks like Disney (DIS) pulling their shows from Netflix’s library.
Disney, for example, plans to debut its own streaming video service in 2019 that will feature Disney’s own collection of animated films and movies, and has previously said it will stop making available new movies on Netflix.
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Daniel Ives, an analyst from GBH Insights, wrote in a research note in February that while media giants like Disney pose a “clear competitive worry” to Netflix, he’s optimistic about the company’s prospects. One of Netflix’s core advantages, Ives cites, is its original programming, which he said will continue to lure new subscribers.
From the GBH Insights research note:
With more consumer dollars shifting away from traditional cable with cord cutting and towards streaming delivery, we believe Netflix has a long runway of growth and opportunity ahead of itself and clear first mover advantage despite intense competition from larger media players (Disney), pure play competitors, and new potential entrants (e.g. Apple).