Netflix beats 1Q profit forecasts

LOS GATOS, Calif. (AP) _ Netflix Inc. (NFLX) on Monday reported first-quarter net income of $178.2 million.

On a per-share basis, the Los Gatos, California-based company said it had profit of 40 cents.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 38 cents per share.

The internet video service posted revenue of $2.64 billion in the period, which met Street forecasts.

For the current quarter ending in July, Netflix said it expects revenue in the range of $2.76 billion. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected revenue of $2.77 billion.

Netflix shares have increased 19 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased roughly 5 percent. In the final minutes of trading on Monday, shares hit $147.04, a climb of 33 percent in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on NFLX at https://www.zacks.com/ap/NFLX

Keywords: Netflix, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings