Netflix profit rises 22%, beats Street

Los Gatos, Calif. Netflix said late Thursday that its second-quarter profit rose 22%, topping Wall Street expectations.

The company has raised its earnings outlook and predicted it will add at least 400,000 more subscribers than it envisioned three months ago.

Netflix earned $32.4 million, up 22% from the year-ago period.

Sales increased 21% to $408.5 million, slightly below the $410 million anticipated by analysts.

Netflix added 289,000 subscribers in the quarter to end June with 10.6 million customers. The growth wasn't as robust as in the final quarter of last year and the opening quarter of this year when Netflix added a total of 1.6 million subscribers. The slowdown wasn't a surprise because Netflix said it is continually challenged to attract and retain subscribers in the spring and summer as the warmer weather causes people to spend more time outside.