Netflix is now more valuable than Comcast, and may soon surpass Disney
Netflix's quest to dominate the entertainment industry seems to be going swimmingly, with Fortune reporting that the streaming giant surpassed telecommunications conglomerate Comcast in market value this past Wednesday.
The company also reached a record-high stock price of $344 and gained a further 4% to touch a total market cap of $149 billion. In comparison, Comcast's market cap was valued at $147 billion on the same day after it fell close to 2%.
Disney, who themselves have been on a furious takeover spree acquiring the likes of ABC, Freeform, Lucasfilm, Marvel Entertainment, and Pixar, and are planning to absorb Fox, had a market cap of just $4 billion more at $153 billion.
Netflix's stock has risen by a whopping 70% since January and helped the company surpass its expectations for its first-quarter earnings reports. A slew of high-profile deals in the recent past, including one with former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, has seen its stock rise even higher.
The streaming platform has also seen a shift in its content strategy that possibly proved to be attractive to potential investors. The company's chief content officer Ted Sarandos revealed at the MoffettNathanson’s Media & Communications Summit 2018 in New York that $8 billion will be spent to finance 500 original shows and movies for 2018 alone.
That would put the total number of originals on the service at over 1,000, with about 470 of those set to premiere between now and the end of the year. 80 of those will be films ranging from "sub-indie" low budget pictures to "$110 million blockbusters."
While this new market cap will undoubtedly be met with excitement at the company, caution will be exercised as well. The streaming giant lags behind Disney in net revenue (55.2 billion vs 11.6 billion), operating income (14.8 billion vs 890 million), net income (8.9 billion vs 550 million), total asset valuation (96 billion vs 19 billion), and equity (45 billion vs 3.5 billion).
While it's an exciting time for Netflix, it is also a crucial time as decisions taken now could shape the company's future.