The best performing stock of the past decade has been Netflix, since 2008 the stock is up 5,384%, it closed in early October at near $200. To stay at is growth rate the stock would have to move to $10,660, will it? Well no one knows, however the gains it saw will likely not be repeated because it the US, 50% of the people who have internet have Netflix. Will the other 50% sign up, not likely, will some yes. Shira Ovide of Bloomberg recently examined Netflix and noted Netflix has been available for $9.99 a month and recently raised its price to $10.99 a month. If the subscriber base stays stable, the extra dollar will mean an extra $600 million in revenue or about 5% of the company’s expected revenue in 2017.

The company is expected to continue to spend billions to license or purchase entertainment programming or there is an expectation many will continue to subscribe. If the number shrinks, then Netflix has to increase its non US subscriber base in Brazil, India and China. At the moment, outside the US the company is not making money.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, while Netflix is not a dividend payer it is one of the FAANG stocks which is likely in most portfolios – either index or mutual funds because it has been such a good performing stock. Will it continue to be an excellent stock to own, likely if the shows which people love and watch are easily found on Netflix.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.