Stock analysts often look at successful stocks like Netflix and attempt to find patterns and indicators of success that might be present in other companies. If that analysis can find enough similarities, they may have found a winning stock poised to follow a similar path. With that in mind, examine three of the biggest reasons for Netflix’s success, and consider what other companies might share those traits.
Find Companies With Scalable Services
One key to success in technology stocks is scalability, or the ability to create a product or service once and deliver it again and again. This is true in both software as a service (SAAS) companies and content companies. For example, Netflix can spend money once to create a new movie or series and then show that movie or series to streaming subscribers again and again with minimal additional cost. It also uses its extensive infrastructure to stream movies and shows licensed by other content creators, like major Hollywood movie studios. Spotify (NYSE: SPOT) offers a similar service, except it focuses on music and audio instead of movies and video. While its hybrid advertising- and subscription-based platform works a little differently than Netflix, its 2018 initial public offering (IPO) in the United States makes it an interesting stock to watch.
Find Data-Driven Marketing to Existing Customers
Netflix was a pioneer in marketing to existing customers, and its unique methods led to some serious customer loyalty. Based on what you already like, it suggests new movies and shows you might like. That keeps you watching—and paying your monthly subscription fees. One newer company that uses similar advertising methods on existing customers is Stitch Fix (NASDAQ: SFIX), a personalized styling service. After signing up, you are regularly sent a personalized delivery and can keep what you want. With the knowledge of what you already like, Stitch Fix is in a great position to convince one-time customers to become repeat buyers.
Find Companies That Make It Easier for Consumers
Video stores have been around since the 1970s, and the consumer desire to watch movies at home hasn’t abated. Netflix took this experience, made it much more convenient, and packaged it up into a monthly fee. This took the company from about 26 million customers in 2011 to more than 200 million worldwide in 2021. Adding 200 million customers is the same as signing up about two-thirds of the entire U.S. population. Blue Apron (NYSE: APRN) is trying to do the same thing for food that Netflix did for the video store. Blue Apron is a meal-subscription service that delivers boxes of ingredients with cooking instructions to your door. Where Netflix’s initial value proposition was letting you skip the video rental stores, Blue Apron allows you to skip going to the grocery store and searching for recipes. Blue Apron has struggled for profits, laid off many workers, and watched its stock price fall during a period where Netflix has shown tremendous growth. Still, while you might not want to sink your dollars into Blue Apron, there are some promising competitors in the meal-kit delivery space that are also worth watching. While all of the subscription-box companies might not survive, it is likely that at least a few will be breakout successes—just like Netflix.
Pay Attention to the Details in Stock Analysis
In many cases, professional investors are not looking for anything an amateur investor couldn’t find. The key to success is to look into both the finances and the operations of a company to find one that is undervalued and ready to grow. That is the basic premise behind value investing. This school of thought was pioneered by Columbia professor and author Benjamin Graham and touted as the key to the success of Warren Buffett, one of the richest people in the world. If you can identify the next big stock before it breaks out, you might be on track to earn millions in the stock market. But one thing is certain: You can’t make it big in the market if you don’t take the time for thoughtful analysis that complements your investing strategy.
