SAN FRANCISCO—Coming off its best quarter yet, Netflix is hoping to hook millions more Internet video subscribers with the lure of original programming as the company tries to build the leading network for the digital-streaming age.
Netflix Inc. added 13 million worldwide subscribers last year, including 4.3 million during the final three months, according to figures released Tuesday in the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report. The performance marked Netflix’s biggest quarter of subscriber gains ever, eclipsing the 4.07 million added in the final three months of 2013.
Earnings also rose to a new quarterly high of $83.4 million, or $1.35 per share, a 72 percent increase up from $48.4 million, or 79 cents per share, at the same time last year.
“Internet TV is growing globally and Netflix is leading the charge,” CEO Reed Hastings boasted in a letter to shareholders.
