Netflix (NFLX.US) had humble beginnings. The company started as a mail-based DVD rental business in 1997 when DVDs were becoming mainstream in the United States. It operated with such a model until 2007 when its business focus switched to media streaming via the Internet. While Netflix continued to rent DVDs, its new services gained traction. A deal with major film production studios was reached in 2010 and in the same year the company started to expand beyond the United States by beginning to offer its services in Canada. Expansion accelerated from there and the company got involved in movie and series production. Netflix is now one of the world's best-known entertainment companies, offering services in more than 190 countries and having more than 220 million paid subscribers at the end of 2021

End of pandemic - end of growth?

As Netflix increased its subscriber base, so has the company's sales and earnings soared. Netflix generated just slightly below $30 billion in annual revenue in 2021. The company's business benefited greatly from the coronavirus pandemic, with revenue increasing 24% in 2020 and 18.8% in 2021. Stay-at-home mandates boosted demand for various types of at-home entertainment products, including streaming services. However, as the pandemic started to be contained and countries no longer imposed as strict restrictions as they used to, Netflix growth started to slow. The company expects a big slowdown in new subscriber growth in Q1 2022, citing increased competition as the prime reason.

Streaming business gets more difficult

While Netflix warned that growing competition within the streaming industry makes the outlook for further growth in subscriber numbers bleak, it should be noted that it is not the only company in the business to have doubts about the future. Disney also said that maintaining high subscriber growth rates became difficult as the market became saturated following the Covid-19 boom. While some customers subscribe to multiple streaming services at once to get access to exclusive content, not everyone can afford that and has to decide which one to use. This is even more important now as high inflation causes consumers to be more cautious with spending.

What's next?

As costs are increasing and subscriber growth is faltering, streaming companies face a difficult decision on what to do next to preserve growth of their business. Streaming companies could boost spending on new productions in order to enrich their portfolio and attract new customers. However, they can also target existing but not "official" customers and this seems to be the decision Netflix decided to take by increasing crackdown on illegal account sharing. This is a risky play - barring such customers from Netflix' service could encourage them to start paying fees but it can also discourage them from using the company's services all together and switch to competition. Another approach to boosting sales in times of rising costs and slower subscriber growth could be boosting plan prices, which is also what Netflix has decided to do with prices for its services in the United States and Canada increasing in late-2021.

Investors now have to decide if these steps can keep the bottom line growing or if they are just desperate moves to maintain the status quo. The stock is down more than 30% this year so many investors may see this as a bargain. But this will only be the case if the company finds a path to strong growth again.