Netflix Earned $68 Million in Q2

 said Monday that it made a profit of $68.2 million in its second quarter or $1.26 per share, compared with $43.5 million or $0.80 per share in the same period a year ago. The Los Gatos company's revenue rose to $789 million from $520 million in the same quarter a year ago. But it was less than $791.48 million, which is what analysts were expecting revenue to come in at.    

Steve Swasey, a spokesman for Netflix, said the company shared its profit and revenue numbers for the second quarter period, which ended June 30 and addressed its expected performance in the third quarter, which started July 1, in this missive. 

Some analysts are predicting the company's performance to decline in the upcoming quarter due to

"We've addressed this very carefully [in the letter]. It's not a quick, simple answer," Swasey said.

"The price change [for streaming and DVD service] was announced early in the third quarter and the effect of that will happen late in the third quarter. That's why our guidance is different than what analysts expected," Swasey said, adding that Netflix is set to have a robust fourth-quarter and end the year on the right track.

The company said at the end of the second quarter, it had more than 25 million global subscribers, up 70 percent from 15 million just one year ago.

It also estimated that by the end of the third quarter in the U.S., it will have about 22 million people subscribing to its Internet Movie and TV show streaming service, about 15 million people subscribing to its DVD-by-mail service, and about 25 million total U.S. subscribers (with about 12 million people subscribing to both streaming and DVD).

The company also said during its second quarter it added 1.8 million U.S. subscribers, 75 percent more than the same period last year and the streaming only plan continued to gain popularity with nearly 75 percent of new subscribers signing up for it.

Also, the company announced it has secured new content for streaming and has expanded its existing partnerships with movie studios and broadcast and cable networks.

For feature films, Netflix said it had reached agreements with Miramax and Revolution Studios to add several hundred movies such as Pulp Fiction and Good Will Hunting and box office favorites like Daddy Day Care.

The company also said it added thousands of TV episodes through renewals with Viacom's media networks and NBC Universal.

Netflix revealed its largest competitor is an improved multi-channel video programming distributor service offering more Internet video on-demand and thus reducing the number of people who will be attracted by a supplementary service like Netflix.

HBO GO is an example of this. Subscribers can watch HBO on-demand through its MVPD provider Web interface DishOnline.com, or through the HBO GO dedicated application, company officials said.

In Canada, the company said it continues to generate strong subscriber growth, having almost 1 million subscribers in just 10 months.

by trying to reach consumers in 43 countries across Mexico, South America and the Caribbean.