Since launching in 1997, Netflix Inc NFLX has been known for its DVDs by mail business model that helped propel the company into being one of the best-returning stocks of the last 25 years. After years of the DVD-by-mail model, a shift to streaming will see the company finally end its founding business model.
Here’s a look back at the DVD history and how an investment in the company’s stock when it announced it was launching streaming has performed.
What Happened: Netflix ended the most recently reported second quarter with 238.39 million global paid streaming subscribers.
Along with this massive total, the company also has around one million customers who count on the Netflix DVDs by mail service.
Netflix recently announced it would be ending this practice and business line after 25 years and will mail out its last DVDs on Friday or this weekend.
“To everyone who ever added a DVD to their queue or waited by the mailbox for a red envelope to arrive: thank you,” said Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos in a blog post announcing the decision.
Netflix was launched with the goal of offering no due dates, no late fees, and unlimited movie rentals per month. The company’s first DVD ever shipped was a copy of “Beetlejuice.”
At its peak, Netflix was processing over 1.2 million DVDs per week, a significantly higher figure than the 50,000 DVDs it handles weekly now.
After experiencing success with its unique business model and witnessing various companies decline to acquire the business, Netflix held its initial price offering in May 2002, selling 5.5 million shares at $15 each.
The company announced in January 2007 that it would launch streaming services, a decision that caused negative reactions from analysts and saw shares fall.
In February 2007, the company rolled out its video-on-demand and has since become one of the top streaming companies in the world.
In July 2011, Netflix announced it would separate its streaming and DVD plans, a move that may have been a precursor to the eventual stoppage of the DVD-by-mail business.
Related Link: This Day In Market History: Netflix Goes Public
Investing $1,000 in Netflix: Since going public in 2002, Netflix shares have had two stock splits, with a two-for-one split in 2004 and a seven-for-one split in 2015.
On Jan. 16, 2007, the day after Netflix made its streaming announcement, Netflix shares traded at a split-adjusted intraday high of $3.49. This marked the high price for shares over the next month.
A $1,000 investment in Netflix shares at its high on the first day of trading after the company announced its streaming plans could have purchased 286.53 shares.
Today, those 286.53 shares would be worth $107,838.43, based on a price of $376.36 for Netflix at the time of writing.
This represents a hypothetical return of 10,683.8% over the last 16+ years.
For comparison, the same $1,000 invested in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF, which tracks the S&P 500 market index fund, would be worth $2,986.78 today. This represents a hypothetical return of 198.7%.
While the critics didn’t like the idea of Netflix's streaming service at the time it was announced, many of us know how that turned out and that Netflix is now a market leader.
Investors who bought Netflix shares may be Netflix and chilling with some profits.
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