Even as Netflix Inc executives sought to reassure investors in a Thursday video interview that its long-term prospects for streaming media remain bright, with its popular series “Bridgerton” returning for a second season and a science-fiction film starring Ryan Reynolds coming soon, shares slipped.
By the end of the 45-minute earnings interview, Netflix stock was down more than 20%, casting a pall over the entertainment industry. Wall Street analysts and the company’s own executives struggled to explain why the world’s dominant streaming service forecast modest growth for the first three months of 2022, when many had anticipated a return to predictable, pre-pandemic quarterly gains.
