Netflix plunges after Covid pandemic boom shudders to near-halt in Q1 FY21

Netflix Inc. credited the pandemic with delivering record growth in 2020. Now it’s blaming the pandemic for the worst first quarter in eight years.

The streaming service added far fewer new customers than Wall Street expected in the first three months of 2021, even missing its own forecast by millions of subscribers. And the current quarter will be more challenging, Netflix said Tuesday, predicting a gain of just 1 million new customers -- or a fraction of the 4.44 million projected by analysts. The dismal growth sent its shares plunging as much as 13%.

Netflix has been warning for months