Netflix subscriber adds beat estimates as original shows lure viewers

(Reuters) - Video-streaming pioneer Netflix Inc added more subscribers than expected in the third quarter as original shows such as the latest season of “Narcos” helped attract more viewers.

The company’s shares, which touched a record high on Monday, rose nearly 2 percent to $206.50 after the bell. They had surged about 64 percent this year.

Netflix forecast total subscriber additions of 6.3 million for the current quarter, just a touch above analysts’ estimate of 6.25 million additions, according to FactSet.

The company added 4.45 million subscribers in its international markets in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with the 3.69 million analysts had expected, according to data and analytics firm FactSet.

Netflix added 850,000 subscribers in the United States, compared with the average analyst estimate of 810,000, according to FactSet.

Netflix is expanding its slate of original shows as the company battles intensifying competition from players such as Amazon.com’s Prime Video service and Hulu.

The company, which said it would spend $7 billion to $8 billion in 2018 to create original content, is also expanding globally as it grapples with a saturating U.S. market.

To fuel its ambitious plans, Netflix recently hiked monthly subscription fees for some of its plans in the U.S. and Europe.

The company’s strong release lineup for the fourth quarter, which includes the second season of hits “Stranger Things” and “The Crown”, will keep viewers subscribed to its services, analysts have said.

Netflix said revenue rose about 30 percent to $2.99 billion in the third quarter.

The company’s net income rose to $130 million, or 29 cents per share, in the latest quarter from $52 million, or 12 cents per share, a year earlier.