Stocks ended the week on a high note. And while the buying was widespread on Friday, tech stocks were the clear winner as investors cheered impressive subscriber growth from streaming giant Netflix (NFLX (opens in new tab)) and news that Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL (opens in new tab)) is undergoing its biggest round of layoffs ever.
Last night, Netflix reported fourth-quarter earnings of 12 cents per share, much lower than the 45 cents per share analysts were expecting, due to forex headwinds. Revenue of $7.85 billion matched the consensus estimate. But the real number investors were looking for was the subscriber growth, and Netflix blew that out of the water. Specifically, the company added 7.66 million paid subscribers over the three-month period – a time frame that included the launch of a lower-price, ad-supported tier. This compared to Wall Street’s expectation for 4.57…
