Netflix CEO Reed Hastings split the company in two in 2011, thinking that the growing ubiquity of high-speed Internet access would soon mean the end of their disruptive DVD mailing business. But neglecting the DVD business proved to be a mistake, and Netflix reversed course.Ore Huiying | Getty ImagesNetflix is set to release its third-quarter earnings after the markets close on Wednesday.Here are the key numbers analysts are expecting:Earnings per share: $1.04, per Refinitiv estimatesRevenue: $5.25 billion, per RefintivDomestic paid subscriber additions: 802,000, per FactSet estimatesInternational paid subscriber additions: 6.05 million, per FactSetAnalysts will be paying close attention to Netflix’s subscriber growth, after it reported a surprising miss in international subscribers last quarter. The company added just 2.7 million new net subscribers in the second quarter, while analysts were looking for 5 million new net subscribers.Netflix blamed the subscriber miss on a weak slate of content releases, but said it expects the third quarter to benefit from the debut of the third season of “Stranger Things” in July. If its thesis proves to be right, it will help demonstrate that subscribers are still interested in Netflix’s original content offerings.Shares of Netflix have fallen roughly 22% in the three months since it reported the subscriber miss. Netflix also faces growing fears that it could face more pressure in the streaming wars, causing a number of analysts to voice skepticism around the highly-valued technology stock.The third quarter will be the last time Netflix reports earnings before the long-awaited launch of Disney’s Disney+ and Apple’s Apple+ next month, as well as the roll out of NBCUniversal’s Peacock and WarnerMedia’s HBO Max. Netflix continues to plunge billions of dollars into original content as a means of shoring up its defenses against the onslaught of new streaming services.This story is developing.Disclosure: NBC is part of NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.
